Cullen family reads Twilight
by Whitlock.Mason.McCarty.Cullen
Summary: The twilight saga somehow became in the procession of our beloved Cullen family! See how they all react as they read the story of a young Bella Swan who... Falls in LOVE with Edward! What? Read and see how reading these events ahead of time alters or doesn't alter future events!
1. Preface

Alice was in the middle of looking around for boxes in the Cullen home, so she could sort her massive array of shoes into color coordinated groups, when she found a box with four books in them. Curious, she selected the first book of the trilogy and decided to read the blurb.

**About three things I was absolutely positive.**

First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him-and I didn't know how dominant that might be- that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

"Oh my, Edward? As in my brother? Did someone in the house write this? When did they, if they even could have done this secretly?" Alice asked aloud, confused. She went ahead and checked the publishing date and author name. It said that it was published in 2005; yet it was 2004 and was written by Stephanie Meyer.

"A book from the future? How did I not 'see' this coming? Who is Stephanie Meyer? So, that means no one in my family wrote it." Alice wondered.

"Wait a second! I may not understand this but does this mean Edward will finally find love?" Alice pondered excitedly. "I should get the whole family and read it together!"

Alice went to the living room and called down everyone and told them to meet in the living room.

"What's going on Alice?" Jasper asked while he tried to send out calming waves to his jubilant wife.

"Yeah Alice, I was in the middle of beating Eddie here at Madden '08." Emmett said while giving Edward a noggie

"First, EMMETT GET OF ME AND DON'T CALL ME EDDIE!" Edward screamed while prying Emmett off of himself.

"Second, why are you blocking me Alice? It's very frustrating!" Edward asked frazzled.

"Well… I found a book from the future and it's about Edward!" Alice sang happily.

"What!?!" everyone blanched, jaws hitting the floor.

"Cool! A book from the future! Lemme see it!" Emmett boomed, first to recover.

"Hold it, I want us all to read it together!" Alice said.

"What do you mean it's from the future, dear?" Esme asked still confused.

"Me???" Edward asked astonished.

"It says it was published in 2005 and…" Alice began but got cut off from Rosalie.

"Alice, are you being serious? It's 2004. It… it… it can't be." Rosalie stuttered trying to make sense of the situation.

"Wow, this is very interesting. I've never heard such a thing."Carlisle said in wonderment.

"Wait! Before we go any farther; what do you mean it's about me?" Edward asked feeling very lost.

"If everyone would just quiet down and let me finish, I would love to explain for you Edward; Jazz?" Alice said quietly

"Of course." Jasper said while sending another wave of calm to everyone; they quieted down quickly.

"Thank you. Now, I read the blurb and it said it was about Edward. Before you ask, no, you cannot read it 'cuz it will give too much away. Going on; I don't really understand how and why, but it seems this book is about some event that is life changing for Edward. So, I thought that we all should sit down and read it together." Alice said finally getting everything out she had to.

"So, does everyone want to read it together?" Alice asked.

"Sure, this should be educating." Carlisle said agreeing to the idea.

"Why not, it can't hurt." Jasper said.

"Well, there is nothing else to do. Summer vacation is boring. We can't even go outside." Rosalie agreed in her own way.

"It sounds like a lovely idea." Esme said genuinely.

"Heck yeah! Let's get our future read on! OME! We are going to be just like you Alice! Getting a look into the future! I always wondered what it would be like to 'see' the future like pixie over here!" Emmet shouted loudly while pointing at Alice.

"Obviously I do, so Edward are you going to join us reading your future?" Alice asked Edward ignoring the pixie comment from Emmett.

"I'm really confused, but of course I am going to stay to listen to MY future." Edward said exasperated.

"Well then, I guess I'll start!" Alice said while opening the book up to the preface.

**Preface**,

**I'd never given much thought to how I would die-though I'd had reason enough in the last few months-but even** **if I had, I would not have imagined it like this. **

"So, I'm guessing this is a human we are talking about here." Jasper observed.

"But I thought this was about me?" Edward said confused.

"It's not all about you Eddie!" Emmett responded.

"I'm not being self-centered, it's just that Alice said it was about me; and don't call me Eddie!" Edward growled the part at Emmett.

"Maybe this is the view from a human about you Edward." Carlisle said thinking over the possibilities.

"Possibly, continue Alice." Edward waved Alice on while accepting Carlisle's theory.

**I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me.** **Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to** **count for something.**

"Oh my! Hunter? Who are they dying for?" Esme said, worried already.

"I don't even know who this is but I hope they don't die." Rosalie said, always having a soft spot for humanity.

"That's kind of them. Considerate." Edward said thinking aloud about the mystery person's personality.

**I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks,** **I wouldn't be facing death now.**

'FORKS!" everyone gasped!

"I wonder when we will make an entrance!" Emmett said excited!

"Wow, Forks. This is real." Rosalie muttered.

"It defiantly makes this more plausible to be real." Carlisle contemplated.

**But terrified as I was, I couldn't bring** **myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not** **reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end. The hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to** **kill me.**

"Well, on that happy note, that was the preface." Alice said putting the book down on her lap.

"Something tells me this is going to be one interesting story." Jasper said.

"who would like to read next?" Alice asked everyone.

"I will." Edward said.


	2. First Sight

**a/n: I put this wrong last chapter. I put summer break, but I meant it was Christmas break. I believe that Bella came to Forks in like February, so it would be like a month before Bella comes. Sorry for the mistake. **

"Okay Edward, go ahead, read." Carlisle said.

"**Chapter One – First Sight" **

**My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. I was wearing my favorite shirt-sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture.**

"Ew! That sounds like the ugliest thing ever! I hope we become friends; I need to fix her fashion sense!" Alice said appalled.

**My carry-on item was a parka. In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds. It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States of America.**

"Yep, defiantly the right place!" Emmett chuckled.

**It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead. It was to Forks that I now exiled myself-an action that I took with great honor. I detested Forks.**

"Then why is she coming here by her own will?" Edward said, cutting himself off.

**I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and it's blistering heat. I loved the vigorous, sprawling city.**

"**Bella," my mom said to me-the last of a thousand times-before I got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."**

**My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself? Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would b food in the refrigerator, gas in her car and someone to call when she got lost, but still….**

"That's sad." Esme said sadly.

"What is?" Emmett asked.

"It seems as though she is more of the adult in their relationship." Esme concluded.

Everyone else just nodded their heads in agreement.

"**I **_**want**_** to go," I lied. I'd always been a bad liar, **

"Noted" Emmett said quietly. Everyone just ignored his nonsense babbling.

**But I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now.**

"**Tell Charlie I said hi."**

"**I will."**

"**I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want-I'll come right back as soon as you need me."**

**But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise.**

"**Don't worry about me," I urged. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom."**

**She hugged me tightly for a minute, and then I got on the plane, and she was gone. It was a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles and then an hour drive back down to Forks. Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I was a little worried about.**

**Charlie had been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence. He'd already gotten me registered for high school and was going to help me get a car.**

"Oh! That means she will be going to school with us! I believe she will get here next month." Alice squealed happily.

"That means we will be in it soon if she is going to our school!" Emmett said excitedly.

**But it was going to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of us was what anyone would call verbose, and I didn't know what there was to say regardless. I knew he was more than a little confused by my decision- like my mother before me, I hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Forks.**

"We still haven't been told why she came to Forks yet, though." Edward said frustrated. He usually doesn't have to wait to figure things out. He just reads peoples' minds and finds out instantly.

**When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen- just unavoidable. I'd already said my goodbyes to the sun. Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser. This I was expecting, too. Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks. **

"Chief Swan! So this is the daughter he has been talking about who is going to come live with him." Carlisle said with recognition in his tone.

**My primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of my funds, was that I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop.**

"Don't I know it!" Emmett boomed while Edward nodded vigorously in agreement.

**Charlie gave me an awkward, one-armed hug when I stumbled my way off the plane.**

"Ah, humans." Rosalie chuckled quietly.

"**It's good to see you Bells,"**

"Bells? What kind of name is that?" Emmett said stupidly.

"Emmett, it's obviously a nickname." Edward said in a 'duh' tone.

**he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied me. **

"**You haven't changed much. How's Renee?"**

"**Mom's fine. It's good to see you too, Dad." I wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face.**

"Good, that's rude." Esme praised her behavior**. **

**I had only a few bags. Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. My mom and I had pooled our resources to supplement my winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser.**

"Oh, Bells, Bells, Bells." Alice tsked.

"**I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced when we were strapped in.**

"There was something hidden in that statement." Jasper said suspiciously.

"**What kind of car?" I was suspicious of the way he said "good car for **_**you**_**" as opposed to just "good car".**

"Observant." Jasper complimented.

"**Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."**

"Ah! EW! A Chevy!" Rosalie cringed.

"**Where did you find it?"**

"**Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?"**

**La Push is the tiny Indian reservation on the coast.**

Most in the room growled at this.

"**No."**

"**He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Charlie prompted.**

**That would explain why I didn't remember him. I do a good job of blocking painful, unnecessary things from my memory.**

"**He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when I didn't respond, "so he can't drive anymore and he offered to sell his truck cheap."**

"**What year is it?" I could see from his change of expression that this was the question he was hoping I wouldn't ask.**

"**Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine- it's only a few years old really."**

**I hoped he didn't think so little of me as to believe I would give up that easily. "When did he buy it?"**

"**He brought it in 1984, I think."**

"**Did he buy it new?"**

"**Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties- or late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly.**

"Very observant." Jasper commented.

"**Ch—Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong and I couldn't afford a mechanic…"**

"**Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore."**

"Bella! That's her name!" Emmett said excitedly that he pointed that out first.

"I think she goes by that, but Emmett, once again, that is also a nickname." Edward said trying to bring Emmett off his high horse.

"Whatever." Emmett said, defiantly not feeling as smart as he thought he was a moment ago.

_**The thing**_**, I thought to myself…it had possibilities as a nickname, at the very least.**

"**How cheap is cheap?" After all, that was the part I couldn't compromise on.**

"**Well, honey, I kind of already brought it for you. As a homecoming gift."**

"That's very kind of him." Esme smiled at this.

**Charlie peeked sideways at me with a hopeful expression. Wow. Free.**

"**You didn't have to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."**

"**I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him. So I was looking straight ahead as I responded.**

"**That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it." No need to add that my being happy in Forks is an impossibility.**

**He didn't need to suffer along with me. And I never looked a free truck in the mouth- or engine.**

"**Well, now, you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by my thanks. **

**We exchanged a few more comments on the weather, which was wet, **

"Welcome to Forks." Edward said sarcastically.

**and that was pretty much it for conversation. We stared out the window in silence. It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves. It was too green- an alien planet.**

"She's funny." Emmett sniggered.

**Eventually we made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that's he'd brought in the early days of their marriage. Those were the only kind of days their marriage had- the early ones. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was my new- well new to me- truck. It was faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. To my intense surprise I loved it.**

**I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged- the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed. **

"That thing is going to break down the moment she tries to turn it on." Rosalie shuddered at the thought of actually having to drive it.

"**Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" Now my horrific day tomorrow would be just that much less dreadful. I wouldn't be faced with the choice of either walking two miles in the rain to school or accepting a ride in the Chief's cruiser.**

"**I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed again. **

**It only took one trip to get all my stuff upstairs.**

Alice huffed at this.

**I got the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had belonged to me since I was born. The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains around the window- these were all a part of my childhood. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I grew. The desk now held a second-hand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from my mother, so that we could stay in touch easily. The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner. There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which I would have to share with Charlie. I was trying not to dwell too much on that fact.**

**One of the best things about Charlie is that he doesn't hover. **

"She seems to be just as a loner as you are Eddie." Emmett said mocking Edward.

"Shut up Emmy." Edward taunted back.

They growled at each other.

"Boys. Enough. Edward continue reading." Carlisle said his voice ringing with authority.

**He left me alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for my mother. It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let just a few tears escape.**

"Awe, the poor dear." Esme sympathized.

"I don't understand. If she is THIS miserable, why did she send herself here?" Edward said not understanding.

"We will find out soon enough Edward, calm down." Alice said while signaling Jasper to help out a bit.

**I wasn't in the mood to go on a real crying jag. I would save that for bedtime, when I would have to think about the coming morning. Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven- now fifty-eight- students; there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone back home. All the kids here had grown up together- their grandparents had been toddlers together. I would be the new girl from the big city, a curiosity, a freak.**

"She doesn't have to worry, we attend that school." Rosalie said sadly.

"It's okay Rosie, they are just jealous." Emmett said while pulling her on his lap, being sensitive for once.

"Yeah, I know." Rosalie sighed.

**Maybe, if I looked like a girl from Phoenix should, I could work this to my advantage. But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I should be tan, sporty, blond- a volleyball player or a cheerleader perhaps- all the things that go with living in the valley of the sun. Instead I was ivory- skinned, **

"She is pale too!" Alice said, excited that Edward's future love would fit in nicely with them!

"WHAT!" Edward screamed, reading Alice's thoughts.

"Dang! I didn't mean to think that!" Alice cursed herself.

"What!?!" Everyone else asked.

"Alice! What did you mean by that?" Edward demanded.

"What are you guys talking about!?!" Rosalie asked

"Nothing." Edward said sharply.

"Well, if you must know…" Alice began.

"They don't have to, but you need to explain yourself!" Edward said while scowling.

"They are curious now so I will tell them." Alice said challenging Edward with a glare.

"fine." Edward huffed, giving in.

"What, what, what!" Emmett asked impatiently.

"Okay, well, I didn't give everyone all the details. This girl… is… Edward's… mate." Alice said now somewhat reluctantly but still determined to say it.

"WHAT!" everyone screamed in unison.

"Okay, before everyone explodes into their own little, but loud, tirades, which I can 'see' happening if we don't organize, so we will take turns and say what we think. I'll start." Alice declared.

"Congrats big bro, she seems like such a great person already! I'm so happy for you!" She squealed joyously.

"Finally! You are such a prude! It's about time; and now I have someone else to prank!" Emmett said while patting a now shocked Edward on the back.

"I'm so happy for you, son. You deserve love. You have been the odd man out for too long. Now you can finally be whole." Esme said beaming.

"Yes, I am proud of you, Edward, and I think it is about time you are rewarded for what a great person you are." Carlisle added in.

"A human, I don't know how you are going to do it, I'm not exactly sure what I think about it, but we will work through this as a family." Jasper said quietly.

"Rosalie?" Emmett asked watching his wife's face turn more and more murderous by the second.

She jumped up and stood in from of Edward and glared at him while speaking with as much venom in her voice as she could muster.

"A HUMAN! YOU LOVE A HUMAN! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ARE GOING TO GIVE OUR SECERT AWAY TO A HUMAN! SHE WILL BE JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE AND TELL EVERYONE! THEN WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO! KILL HER! CHANGE HER! OH NO! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE AWAY HER HUMANITY! HOW DARE YOU! PLUS! SHE IS JUST A HUMAN! DO YOU REALLY NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR FAMILY SO MUCH THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO SELL US AWAY TO A STUPID HUMAN!!! THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING! A HUMAN!" Rosalie screamed while she was being held back by Emmett.

"Alice, I think you are wrong." Edward said quietly.

"Are you telling ME the FUTURE seer that I was WRONG?" Alice asked incredulously.

"I can't fall in love with a human. Yes, this one maybe a bit kinder than the other ones but human teenage minds are all the same. They just repulse me. Also, how would that even work? A human and a vampire? I just don't think it's plausible." Edward said.

"Oh, just you wait Edward, why don't you continue reading; and we will see." Alice challenged.

**without even the excuse of blue eyes or red hair, despite the constant sunshine. I had always been slender, but soft somehow, obviously not an athlete; I didn't have the necessary hand-eye coordination to play sports without humiliating myself- and harming both myself and anyone else who stood too close**.

"This girl sounds hilarious." Emmett chuckled already bored with all the seriousness that had just taken place.

**When I finished putting my clothes in the old pine dresser, I took my bag of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean myself up after the day of travel. I looked at my face in the mirror as I brushed my through my tangled, damp hair. Maybe it was the light, but already I looked sallower, unhealthy. My skin could be pretty- it was very clear, almost translucent looking- but it depended on color. I had no color here.**

**Facing my pallid reflection in the mirror, I was forced to admit that I was lying to myself. It wasn't physically that I'd never fit in. And if I couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what were my chances here?**

**I didn't relate well to people my age.**

"Well, that's okay, lover boy here is almost a century old!" Emmett laughed while Rosalie and Edward glared at him.

**Maybe the truth was that I didn't relate well to people, period.**

**Even my mother, who I was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with me, never exactly on the same page. Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain. But the cause didn't matter. All that mattered was the effect. And tomorrow would just be the beginning.**

"Poor Bella." Esme said sadly.

**I didn't sleep well that night, even after I was done crying.**

**The constant whooshing of the rain and the wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background. I pulled the faded quilt over my head, and later added the pillow, too. But I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight, when the rain finally settled into a quieter drizzle. Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning, and I could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me. You could never see the sky here; it was like a cage.**

**Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school. I thanked him knowing his hope was wasted.**

**Good luck tended to avoid me.**

"Klutz klutz klutz!" Emmett sang.

**Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife and family. After he left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor. Nothing was changed. My mother had painted the cabinets eighteen years ago in an attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace in the adjoining handkerchief-sized family room was a row of pictures. First a wedding picture of Charlie and my mom in Las Vegas, then one of the three of us in the hospital after I was born, taken by a helpful nurse, followed by a procession of my school pictures up to last year's. Those were embarrassing to look at- I would have to see what I could do to get Charlie to put them somewhere else, at least while I was living here.**

**It was impossible, being in this house, not to realize that Charlie had never gotten over my mom. It made me uncomfortable.**

"That would be awkward." Jasper said.

"It's very sad, he is a nice man." Carlisle commented.

**I didn't want to be early to school, but I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I donned my jacket- which had the feel of a biohazard suit- **

"Oh, Bella, why do you torture me so?" Alice sighed.

**and headed out into the rain. It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me though immediately as I reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eaves by the door, and locked up.**

**The sloshing of my new waterproof boots was unnerving. I missed the normal crunch of gravel as I walked. I couldn't pause and admire my truck again as I wanted:**

Rosalie scoffed while Edward growled at her. That just made Emmett protective and Alice amused. Of course everyone fighting, made Esme worried, and resulted in a peace making Carlisle. This then made a frightened Jasper trying to control the emotions.

"Already getting defensive over _Bella_ I see." Rosalie mocked.

Edward just growled at her but otherwise ignored her and continued reading.

**I was in a hurry to get out of the misty wet that swirled around my head and clung to my hair under my hood. Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Charlie had obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled faintly of tobacco, gasoline and peppermint.**

All the vampires in the room winced at that.

**The engine started quickly, to my relief, but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. Well, a truck this old was bound to have a flaw. The antique radio worked, a plus that I hadn't expected.**

**Finding the school wasn't difficult, though I'd never been there before. The school was, like most things, just off the highway. It was not obvious that is was the school; only the sign, which declared it to be the Forks High School, made me stop. It looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs I couldn't see its size at first. Where was the feel of the institution? I wondered nostalgically. Where were the chain-link fences, the metal detectors?**

What does she think this place is an airport?" Jasper said chuckling along with Emmett and a slightly smirking Edward.

**I parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading FRONT OFFICE. **

"Good ol' Forks!" Edward joked, finally relaxing a bit.

**No one else was parked there, so I was sure it was off limits, but I decided I would get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain like an idiot.**

Rosalie scoffed again. Which made Edward growl again. That set Emmett off into a protective stance a bit, again. This again, made an amused Alice on the side; and a freaked out Jasper trying to calm everyone down. That resulted in a worried Esme and a peacemaking Carlisle, once again.

**I stepped unwillingly out of the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges. I took a deep breath before opening the door.**

**Inside it was brightly lit, and warmer than I'd hoped. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to its front.**

**There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made me feel overdressed.**

**The red-haired woman looked up.**

"Ah! Mrs. Cope! So nasty! In her eyes I'm technically young enough to be her great grandchild! I could sue her for her thoughts!" Edward said in disgust, while everyone, including Rosalie, tried to hold in laughter; well, Emmett full out laughed though.

"**Can I help you?"**

"**I'm Isabella Swan**," **I informed her and saw the immediate awareness in her eyes. I was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter of the Chief's flighty ex-wife, come home at last.**

"Isabella! That's her REAL name!" Emmett proclaimed, proud of himself once again.

"**Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the right ones she was looking for.**

"**I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter to show me. She went through my classes for me, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave me a slip to have each teacher sign, which I was to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at me and hoped, like Charlie, that I would like it here in Forks. I smiled back as convincingly as I could.**

**When I went back out to my truck, other students were starting to arrive. I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy.**

"I'm guessing you kids aren't at school yet." Carlisle said.

**At home I'd lived in one of the few lower-income neighborhoods that were included in the Paradise Valley District. It was a common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot.**

"A Porsche sounds nice… yellow." Alice said picturing it.

**The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out.**

Edward just grinned; that car was his pride and joy.

**Still, I cut the engine as soon as I was in a spot, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to me. I looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully I wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. I stuffed everything into my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, I lied to myself feebly. No one was going to bite me.**

"I don't know… Eddie seems to take a liking to you." Emmett joked.

"I wouldn't bite her." Edward growled determined; only Jasper knew there was a bit self-doubt underneath that statement.

"Calm down and keep reading, I was just joking." Emmett said, raising his hands in surrender.

**I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck. I kept my face pulled back into my hood as I walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers. My plain black jacket **

Alice winced.

**didn't stand out, I noticed with relief. Once I got around to the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black "3" was painted on a white square n the east corner.**

**I felt my breathing gradually creep toward hyperventilation as I approached the door. I tried holding my breath as I followed two unisex raincoats through the door.**

**The classroom was small. The people in front of me stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I copied them. They were two girls, one porcelain-colored blonde, the other also pale with light brown hair. At least my skin wouldn't stand out here.**

"Believe me, you will look tan next to us!" Emmett boomed.

**I took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at me when he saw my name- not an encouraging response- and of course I flushed tomato red. But at least he sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the class. It was harder for me new classmates to stare at me at the back, but somehow they managed. **

**I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. I'd already read everything.**

"She reads the classics?" Edward said in awe.

""awwwwww, they have something in common!" Alice squealed, while Esme beamed with glee.

"Alice." Edward warned before continuing.

**That was comforting and boring. I wondered if my mom would send me my folder of old essays, or if she would think that was cheating. I went through different arguments with her in my head while the teacher droned on. When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to me. **

"**You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful, chess club type.**

"**Bella," I corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me.**

"**Where's your next class?" he asked.**

**I had to check in my bag. "Umm, Government, with Jefferson, in building six." There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes.**

"**I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way…" **

"Admirer #1!" Emmett boomed.

Edward growled, while everyone else stared at him in shock.

**Definitely over-helpful.**

"**I'm Eric," he added.**

"Don't worry Ed, Yorkie's no competition!" Emmett stated.

**I smiled tentatively. "Thanks."**

**We got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I could have sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. I hoped I wasn't getting paranoid.**

"Nope, your assumptions are probably right." Jasper chuckled.

"**So, this is very different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.**

"**Very."**

"**It doesn't rain much there, does it?"**

"**Three or four times a year."**

"**Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.**

"What do you think?" Edward asked the 'book Eric' sarcastically; gaining some incredulous stares from his family members.

"**Sunny," I told him.**

"**You don't look very tan."**

"**My mother is part albino."**

**He studied my face apprehensively, and I sighed. It looked like clouds and a sense of humor didn't mix.**

This made some people snicker.

**A few months of this and I'd forget how to use sarcasm. We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric walked me right to the door, though it was clearly marked.**

"**Well, good luck," he said as I touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together." He sounded hopeful.**

**I smiled at him vaguely and went inside. The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. **

**I stammered, blushed and tripped over my own boots on the way to my seat. **

"Hahahahaha! I can't wait to watch this in person!" Emmett laughed aloud.

**After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, but mostly I just lied a lot. **

Edward frowned at this.

**At least I never needed a map.**

**One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she prattled on about teachers and classes. **

"Hahahaha!" Emmett laughed.

"Who could that be?" Alice said thinking.

"Sounds like Jessica to me. Her thoughts are terrible to listen into; so absorbed in trying to be popular & she never stops talking." Edward said, shaking his head.

"I remember that one time she was stupid enough to ask you to go out on a date with her! Haha! That was hilarious!" Emmett said recalling the memory.

"It was not! She gives me the creeps!" Edward said shuddering before continuing."

**I didn't try to keep up.**

**We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at me from across the room. It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.**

"Ewe! It must be us! I can't wait! We are finally here!" Emmett squealed uncharacteristically, while the others laughed at his idiocy.

**They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them.**

"Yep, that's us." Alice said.

"Strange… humans never notice that we don't actually eat." Edward commented.

"She is quite observant." Jasper stated.

**They weren't gawking at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was quite safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught, and held my attention. They didn't look anything alike. **

**Of the three boys, one was big-muscled like a serious weightlifter, with dark, curly hair.**

"Hey, that's me!" Emmett boomed.

**Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey-blond. **

"That's you Jazzy!" Alice said excitedly! Jasper just smiled back

**The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college or even teachers here as opposed to students.**

"BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! Boyish! Oh Bella thinks we are better!" Emmett mocked Edward.

"No! She described him more! Obviously she is more taken with him. And, it is a fact, he is more boyish, he's younger." Alice defended, on team Edward and Bella.

"Maybe she thinks I'm way younger than her." Edward said worried.

"Don't worry Edward. You guys are meant to be together. And I doubt she thinks that." Alice reassured Edward.

"Thanks Alice." Edward said sincerely instinctively.

"I mean… uh…" Edward stuttered embarrassed being caught with liking the idea of being in love with her.

"It's okay dear. You deserve this." Esme said putting a hand on Edward's shoulder motherly. Edward just started to read again.

**The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the **_**Sports Illustrated**_** swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back.**

"Okay, maybe she's ok; but Edward… a human." Rosalie commented.

"I can't help it Rose." Edward said distressed; obviously worrying over the human factor too.

"Now Rosalie, do not give Edward any heat about who he loves. That's unfair." Esme chided.

**The short girl was pixie-like, **

"HAHA! PIXIE!" Emmett barked out laughing; Alice

**thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.**

**And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than me, the albino. They all had very dark eyes despite their range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes- purplish, bruise-like shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight, perfect, and angular.**

**But this was not the reason why I could not look away.**

**I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all so devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful.**

"Wow, already, she used one of the key words; inhuman." Emmett said.

"Oh my." Esme gasped.

"She is _**way**_ too observant for her own good." Jasper said astounded.

"No one ever notices all this. Especially not at first glance! I wonder what I'm going to do when I 'hear' her." Edward said shocked.

"We better not have to move. I like it here." Rosalie growled.

"Why would we move if she even does find out. She is Edward's mate. She wouldn't sabotage us like that." Alice said.

"Let's just hope she doesn't observe too much. She already noticed our no-eating human food habit, our pale skin, and perfection in appearance; all in one look. Wow. She certainly is unique." Carlisle said in awe.

**They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful- maybe the perfect blonde girl, or the bronze-haired boy.**

"Yeah right, like there's a contest." Rosalie scoffed being vain.

"That just proves that she likes Edward… and there is as fact that she _**is**_ a girl." Alice defended what Bella said. Edward smiled.

**They were all looking away- away from each other, away from the other students, way from anything in particular as far as I could tell. As I watched, the small girl rose with her tray in her hand-unopened soda, unbitten apple- and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. I watched, amazed at her lithe dancer's step, till she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than I would have thought possible. My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging.**

"Now she observed our quick speed." Jasper commented.

"**Who are **_**they**_**?" I asked the girl from my Spanish class, whose name I'd already forgotten.**

**As she looked up to see who I meant-though already knowing, probably from my tone- suddenly he looked at her, the thinner one, the boyish one, the youngest perhaps. He looked at my neighbor for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to mine. **

"How did I not pick up Bella's thoughts, yet 'who we believe is Jessica's' thoughts?"

"Probably because 'Jessica' thought your name, Bella, being new, wouldn't know your name so you didn't pick up her thoughts." Carlisle contemplated.

**My neighbor giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like I did.**

"**That's Edward and Emmett Cullen and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said this all under one breathe.**

**I glanced sideways at the beautiful boy,**

**who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them.**

"Oh my God! How can she do this! Humans can't see us speak to each other like that! This is amazing!" Emmett said astounded.

"I don't get it! She is amazing!" Edward said in awe.

"How, she's just a human." Rosalie said practically speechless.

"Way way way too observant! Something tells me this is going to go downhill quickly." Jasper said worriedly.

"She is very intelligent." Esme said.

"Yes, she is. Edward, you've got one unique girl there!" Carlisle said chuckling.

"Yes I do." Edward said, not realizing he said it aloud.

**Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kinds of names grandparents had.**

"Wow." Alice said quietly.

**But maybe that was in vogue here-small town names? I finally remembered that my neighbor was called Jessica, a perfectly common name. There were two girls named Jessica in my History class back home.**

"**They are…very nice looking." I struggled with the conspicuous understatement.**

"**Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all **_**together**_** though- Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they**_** live **_**together."**

**Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, I thought critically. But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip.**

"**Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked. "They don't look related…?"**

"**Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties.**

"I actually am just a bit older than that." Carlisle chuckled.

**They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins- the blondes- and they're foster children."**

"**They look a little old for foster children."**

"**They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."**

"**That's really nice- for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."**

Everyone in the room smiled at each other.

"**I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at the adopted children, I would presume the reason was jealousy.**

"Yep." Edward confirmed.

"**I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have kids though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness.**

"She really is a lovely girl: smart and kind-hearted. You deserve someone like her Edward." Esme smiled sweetly at Edward, who also couldn't help but keep the grin off his face at how truly amazing Bella was.

**Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.**

"**Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here.**

"**No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."**

**I felt a surge of pity and relief.**

"Why, what would cause that?" Jasper said confused; the empathy in him tugging at his curiosity.

**Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were outsiders, clearly not accepted. Relief that I wasn't the only newcomer here, and certainly not the most interesting by any standard. **

"Of course she feels bad for us." Edward shook his head, smirking.

"Apparently she is also very adverse to attention too." Rosalie said; silently thinking 'more attention for me then." Edward just ignored her conceited thought and stored the extra information about Bella in the back of his mind.

**As I examined them, the youngest, one of the Cullens, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression. As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation.**

"What is that suppose to mean." Emmett wondered.

"Edwards never had to be confused, curious, or have anything unsolved for very long before; he just reads their mind. This is very confusing." Jasper said.

Edward just sat there bewildered.

"**Which is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I asked. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was till staring at me, but not gawking like the other students had today- he had a slightly frustrated expression. I looked down again.**

"Frustrated?" Esme asked.

"Maybe he is frustrated that she can observe so much." Alice guessed.

"Maybe." Edward said incredulously.

"**That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he'd turned her down.**

"HAHA! How did she guess?" Emmett said.

**I bit my lip to hide a smile. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling, too. **

"I would be after hearing that." Edward chuckled.

**After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They were all noticeably graceful- even the big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. **

"Hahahahahaha!" Emmett booming laugh filled the room.

**The one named Edward didn't look at me again. I sat at the table with Jessica and her friends than I would have if I'd been sitting alone. One of my new acquaintances, who considerately reminded me that her name was Angela, had Biology II with me the next hour.**

"She is very nice." Edward commented.

**We walked to class together in silence. She was shy, too. When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used to. She already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat.**

"Ohhhhhhh! Eddie it's time to turn on the old Cullen charm!" Emmett snickered.

"Don't be too much of a flirt Edward! Remember your manners!" Esme warned.

"Don't worry guys, I'm pretty sure this will go nicely and smoothly." Edward reassured them.

**As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face- it was hostile, furious.**

"Edward!" Esme chastened.

"Don't scare her idiot!" Alice said glaring at Edward.

"I know you're not the best with the ladies, but glaring isn't a turn on." Emmett laughed loudly.

"I know we raised you better than that!" Esme said frustrated and confused by his behavior.

"Wow, I actually feel bad for her, Edward you're a jerk." Rosalie said actually sticking up for Bella.

"Why am I acting like that? Just because maybe she is a bit more observant you would think I would try to keep up a pretense to act… well… normal. And why would I be like that in front of my Bella" Edward said exasperated

Everyone started unessisarly coughing.

"What?" Edward asked; then he read the minds and realized he just called Bella his Bella.

"Um… uh… I'm just going to start reading now." Edward stuttered embarrassed.

**I looked away quickly, shocked, going red again. I stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch myself on the edge of a table. **

Emmett sniggered quietly.

**The girl sitting there giggled.** **I'd noticed his eyes were black- coal black.**

"Oh!" everyone gasped.

"He is glaring and his eyes are black… do you think…" Jasper pondered.

"No. Edward has excellent control. It makes no sense for Edward to want to drain Bella." Carlisle said dismissing the idea. All the sudden they heard a noise that sounded like a strangled hiss.

"Edward?" Esme came over to Edward kneeling in front of him. "Are you okay?"

"I… can't… won't… no… Bella… I won't… can't… hurt her." Edward said in a strained stutter.

"It's okay sweetie, you won't hurt her." Esme hugged Edward. "Can you still read?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Edward said, adverting his eye contact with anyone.

**Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by **_**him,**_** bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given me.**

**I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair.**

**It smelled like strawberries, the scent of my favorite shampoo. It seemed like an innocent enough odor. I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher. Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied. **

"She's smart." Alice said, trying to ease the mood. That did make Edward smile a bit.

**I took notes carefully, always looking down.**

**I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally through the screen of my hair at the strange boy next to me. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. **

"Geez Edward, what's up with your attitude?" Rosalie asked.

**This, too, he never relaxed. He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly brother.**

"See, she's checking Edward out, Emmett!" Alice pointed out to Emmett.

"Well, she still said I was more muscular." Emmett said back childishly.

"Once again, just a fact, but she still likes him better!" Alice countered. Emmett just pouted in response.

**The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was finally coming to a close, or because I was waiting for his tight fist to loosen? It never did; he continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn't breathing.**

"What? You're not breathing?" Jasper asked.

"I guess not, because her being way too observant has made that clear. But why? Well, I'm going to guess it's her blood. And my eyes are black so maybe I waited longer than two weeks, and then she just smelt a bit better than others. But why would I have done that in the first place? And could she have really smelt that good?" Edward said ranting.

"Oh no." Carlisle gasped.

"What is it?" Alice asked.

"La Tua Cantante." Carlisle whispered.

"What! Of all the luck on this world! She's my La Tau Cantante! Of course it has to be the person that is to be my mate! What do I do Carlisle! I can't meet her! Oh no! I can't meet her! But it's for her good! But, now I will know what I'm going to miss out on! But it's for her safety! Is there anything you can do! Carlisle!" Edward said panicking.

"STOP!" Alice screamed. Everyone fell silent.

"Okay first, Edward, you _**are **_meeting Bella. No matter what. Second, what the heck is a 'La Tua Cantante'?" Alice said making herself heard.

"La Tua Cantante, means singer." Carlisle said gently.

"Whoa! She is your singer! I've had two. I… um… couldn't withstand… per say." Emmett said the last thing quietly, ashamed.

"I'm sorry Edward." Rosalie said quietly also; while comforting Emmett. _**(a/n: Rose knew 'cuz Emm was a vampire the whole time he was with Rose, so she knows what that is. So does Esme. Only Jazz and Alice don't. Also only Carlisle and Edward know Italian.)**_

"Oh, Edward dear, it will be okay. You were meant to be with Bella. You will work through this." Esme comforted Edward.

"Um, Jazzy and I still have no idea what you guys are talking about." Alice said interrupting the Kodak moment.

"Well it means her blood sings to him. For Edward to stand next to her is like a new born Vampire standing next to human. It is much more potent to him than anyone else. It is almost impossible to with stand it. As you heard Emmett say earlier he has had two people before smell like that; he… um… couldn't… uh withstand." Carlisle said the last part quietly while wincing.

"But this has never happened to Edward, Esme, Rose, or myself before, so as you can see, it is rare. And it just so happens Bella is Edward's singer." Carlisle explained.

"Oh, Edward! I'm so sorry! This is going to be hard! But! You are going to meet her, get to know her, then fall in love with her. You have no choice. This is my final decision." Alice declared with finalization in her tone.

"Well, let's read on, and see if I drain my love." Edward said dejectedly. Once again not noticing that he called Bella his love. No one said anything about it.

**What was wrong with him? Was this normal behavior? I questioned my judgment on Jessica's bitterness at lunch today. Maybe she was not as resentful as I'd thought.**

**It couldn't have anything to do with me. He didn't know me from Eve. I peeked at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against me chair, the phrase **_**if looks could kill**_** suddenly ran through my mind.**

"Oh this is going to get bad." Edward said sadly before continuing.

**At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose- he was much taller than I'd thought- his back to me, and was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat. **

"Wow, nice job staying inconspicuous." Rosalie said sarcastically.

"I think I was a little preoccupied not biting her head of Rose." Edward hissed at his sister.

"Good job bro! I didn't even last half a minute and you lasted a whole hour and didn't even attack her. I think this is a good sign!" Emmett complimented Edward's endurance.

"See Edward! You can make this work!" Esme encouraged Edward.

**I sat frozen in my seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. It wasn't fair.**

**I began gathering up my things slowly, trying to block the anger that filled me, for fear my eyes would tear up.**

**For some reason, my temper was hardwired to my tear ducts. I usually cried when I was angry, a humiliating tendency.**

"She is one strange human." Emmett chuckled. Edward growled at him in response.

"**Aren't you Isabella Swan?" a male voice asked.**

**I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy; his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way. He obviously didn't think I smelled bad.**

"**Bella," I corrected him, with a smile.**

"**I'm Mike."**

"**Hi, Mike."**

Edward growled menacingly.

"Edward! Calm down!" Jasper said while trying to help Edward out with calming vibes.

"What is your problem Edward?" Alice asked.

"That vile Newton is my problem." Edward growled.

"Care to elaborate there, Edward." Rosa said.

"His thoughts, no sorry, rather his… fantasies are… horrid and vivid. I don't want him anywhere close to my Bella." Edward growled and shuttered.

"Awe! You are already protective and possessive over her! How cute!" Alice Squealed. Edward just ignored her and started to read again.

"**Do you need help finding your next class?"**

"**I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."**

"**That's my next class, too." He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small. We walked to class together; he was a chatterer- he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me.**

"Seems to be bit quiet I take it." Rosalie said.

"Just like Eddie! Wow, you guys were made for each other." Emmett boomed.

**He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was in my English class also. He was the nicest person I'd met today. But as we were entering the gym, he asked,**

"So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."

"Hahaha! A pencil! Like that would do anything!" Emmett laughed; while Edward frowned.

**I cringed. So I wasn't the only one who had noticed. And, apparently, that wasn't Edward Cullen's usual behavior. I decided to play dumb.**

"**Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" I asked artlessly.**

"**Yes," he said. "It looked like he was in pain or something."**

"**I don't know," I responded. "I never spoke to him."**

"**He's a weird guy." Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."**

Edward growled at Mike's statement.

"OH! Admirer 2#! I'm not exactly going to count you yet Edward, your future self has to show a little interest first!" Emmett said in an announcer's voice.

**I smiled at him before walking through the girl's locker room door. He was friendly and clearly admiring. But it wasn't enough to ease my irritation. The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found me a uniform but didn't make me dress down for today's class. At home, only two years of P.E were required. Here, P.E was mandatory all four years. Forks was literally my personal hell on Earth.**

**Poor Bella, she must trip over herself all the three times as much in gym class." Rosalie said. **_(A/n: since Rose has been reading it and all, she likes Bella.)_

**I watched four volleyball games running simultaneously. Remembering how many injuries I had sustained- and inflicted- playing volleyball, I felt faintly nauseated. **

"I can't get enough of this girl! Ha-ha!" Emmett laughed.

**The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. I wrapped my arms around myself. When I walked into the warm office, I almost turned around and walked back out.**

"Let me guess! Edward's in there!" Alice guessed.

**Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me.**

"Oh! I'm good!" Alice squealed; while Edward grimaced.

**I recognized again that tousled bronze hair. **

"Bronze? We never could decide what color your hair was Edward, bronze. That's a good description it." Esme said.

**He didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free. He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time- any other time.**

Ow! There is a hit to her self-esteem Edward! Great job! Poor girl! She must already feel inadequate enough!" Rosalie said glaring at him. She was already getting protective over Bella. (

**I just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something else, something that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike to me. **

"I don't dislike you." Edward said whispered feebly to the 'book Bella'.

**The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked back out again.**

"Uh oh." Emmett and Jasper both said at the same time.

**But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me- his face was absurdly handsome- with piercing, hate-filled eyes. For an instance, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms.**

"Oh, Edward." Esme sighed.

**The look only lasted a second, but it chilled me more than the freezing wind. He turned back to the receptionist.** "**Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help."**

**And he turned on his heel without another look at me and disappeared out the door. I went meekly to the desk, my face white for once instead of red, and handed her the signed slip.**

"**How did your first day go, dear?" the receptionist asked maternally.**

"**Fine," I lied, my voice weak. She didn't look convinced.**

**When I got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed like a haven, already the closest thing to home I had in this damp green hole. I sat inside for awhile, just staring out the windshield blankly. But soon I was cold enough to need the heater, so I turned the key and the engine roared to life. I headed back to Charlie's house, fighting tear the whole way there.**

"She's crying!" Rosalie growled at Edward.

"Like I would want… Bella to cry." Edward said strained.

"It's okay Edward, I bet next chapter will be better." Alice assured him.

"Who would like to go next?" Edward asked placing the book down.

_(a/n: sorry I took so long, my computer's internet was down and I didn't even know how to update.)_


	3. Open Book

**(a/n: Bella arrives on January 15****th**** in the books, Right now in my story it is Christmas break! So… we r all going to say their first day back from Christmas break is Jan. 15****th****! Work with me people! Haha!)**

"I'll read." Esme said.

**The next day was better… and worse.**

"Better because you have a cute outfit on, worse because Edward is still glaring at you." Alice guessed.

"She isn't absorbed into clothing like you Alice." Edward said.

"Better 'cuz she noticed my awesomeness, worse because she is jealous off my awesomeness!" Emmet guessed, being Emmett.

"Carlisle, I think you need to check him out, I think he's gone insane." Edward told Carlisle.

"I don't suffer from insanity… I enjoy every minute of it!" Emmett defended himself stupidly.

"Guys stop guessing, I wanna listen to the story." Rosalie said irritated.

**It was better because it wasn't raining yet, though the clouds were dense and opaque. It was easier because I knew what to expect of my day. Mike came to sit by me in English, and walked me to my next class, with Chess Club Eric glaring at him all the while; that was flattering.**

"Hey look, admirers 1 & 2!" Emmett boomed. Edward growled.

**People didn't look at me quite as much as they had yesterday. I sat with a big group at lunch that included Mike, Eric, Jessica, and several other people whose names and faces I now remembered. I began to feel like I was treading water, instead of drowning in it.**

"Even though she has terrible friends so far, at least she feels as though she is accepted." Rosalie said; happy for Bella.

**It was worse because I was tired; I still couldn't sleep with the wind echoing around the house. **

"I know humans need and like sleep, but that was the worst thing?" Jasper asked incredulously.

**It was worse because Mr. Varner called on me in Trig when my hand wasn't raised and I had the wrong answer. **

"It's not that bad." Alice said confused.

**It was miserable because I had to play volleyball, and the one time I didn't cringe out of the way of the ball, I hit my teammate in the head with it.**

"Very funny, still not all that bad though." Emmett chuckled.

**And it was worse because Edward Cullen wasn't in school at all.**

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! HOW CUTE! She was looking forward to seeing you!" Alice squealed.

"Where are you, did you leave?" Esme said, hurt, looking at Edward sadly.

"I'm probably just at home Esme, being around my singer can't be all that easy." Edward said dejectedly.

"Dude, stop mopping! Your acting like someone just kicked your dog, then went back and kicked it again just for the fun of it!" Emmett boomed.

"Shut up Emmet! Your being stupid!" Edward hissed at his brother.

"Esme dear, just continue reading." Carlisle said softly to his wife.

**All morning I was dreading lunch, fearing his bizarre glares.**

"See she didn't want to see him! She was dreading his presence!" Emmett said sticking his tongue out at Alice.

"No, she was dreading his glares! She said it was worse 'cuz he wasn't there! She just wants him to act normal!" Alice countered.

"Whatever pixie!" Emmett boomed, knowing he lost, but too proud to actually give in.

**Part of me wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was. While I was lying sleepless in my bed, I even imagined what I would say. But I knew myself too well to think I would really have the guts to do it. I made the Cowardly Lion look like the terminator.**

"She just needs to be confident." Rosalie said.

"Rose, I don't think she has vampire perfection, so it's probably pretty hard to be confident in yourself." Jasper amended.

"Well, she has to be pretty enough, Edward loves her. He is surrounded by single female perfect vampires all the time. But no, a human." Rosalie challenged.

"Rose, everything isn't about looks. She has a great personality." Edward defended his love.

"Come on, no fighting. Esme if you could." Alice said.

**But when I walked into the cafeteria with Jessica — trying to keep my eyes from sweeping the place for him, and failing entirely — I saw that his four siblings of sorts were sitting together at the same table, and he was not with them. **

"Where are you Edward?"Emmett asked.

"I don't know Emm." Edward mumbled.

**Mike intercepted us and steered us to his table. Jessica seemed elated by the attention,** **and her friends quickly joined us. But as I tried to listen to their easy chatter, I was terribly uncomfortable, waiting nervously for the moment he would arrive. I hoped that he would simply ignore me when he came, and prove my suspicions false.**

**He didn't come, and as time passed I grew more and more tense.**

"Poor Bella." Esme said, cutting her own reading off.

**I walked to Biology with more confidence when, by the end of lunch, he still hadn't showed. Mike, who was taking on the qualities of a golden retriever, walked faithfully by my side to class.**

"Bwawawawawawwawa! That's a perfect description." Emmett's booming laughter filled the room. Everyone else was chuckling too.

**I held my breath at the door, but Edward Cullen wasn't there, either. I exhaled and went to my seat. Mike followed, talking about an upcoming trip to the beach.**

**He lingered by my desk till the bell rang. Then he smiled at me wistfully and went to sit by a girl with braces and a bad perm. It looked like I was going to have to do something about Mike, and it wouldn't be easy. In a town like this, where everyone lived on top of everyone else, diplomacy was essential. I had never been enormously tactful; I had no practice dealing with overly friendly boys.**

"Ah, poor naïve innocent Bella, forks is not for you." Emmett chuckled again.

**I was relieved that I had the desk to myself, that Edward was absent. I told myself that repeatedly. But I couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that I was the reason he wasn't there. It was ridiculous, and egotistical, to think that I could affect anyone that strongly. It was impossible. And yet I couldn't stop worrying that it was true.**

"See, now you have her paranoid!" Rosalie hissed at Edward.

"Well, she is the reason." Edward said back.

"Yes, but she doesn't know that, so your making her go crazy!" Rosalie seethed at Edward.

"It's not like I really want to stay away from her Rosalie; I'm probably making precautions so I don't kill her!" Edward growled at her.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Calm down! I'm just 'bout to randomly attack Emmett, you guys have got me so riled up!" Jasper said sending calming waves out to them.

"On with the story!" Emmett declared acting like he was king.

**When the school day was finally done, and the blush was fading out of my cheeks from the volleyball incident, I changed quickly back into my jeans and navy blue sweater. I hurried from the girls' locker room, pleased to find that I had successfully evaded my retriever friend for the moment. I walked swiftly out to the parking lot. It was crowded now with fleeing students. I got in my truck and dug through my bag to make sure I had what I needed.**

**Last night I'd discovered that Charlie couldn't cook much besides fried eggs and bacon.**

**So I requested that I be assigned kitchen detail for the duration of my stay.**

**He was willing enough to hand over the keys to the banquet hall.**

"Ah! That place smells terrible!" Edward said cringing.

**I also found out that he had no food in the house. So I had my shopping list and the cash from the jar in the cupboard labeled FOOD MONEY, and I was on my way to the Thriftway.**

**I gunned my deafening engine to life, ignoring the heads that turned in my direction, and backed carefully into a place in the line of cars that were waiting to exit the parking lot. As I waited, trying to pretend that the earsplitting rumble was coming from someone else's car, **

"Hahahaha! Yeah, how's that working out for you?" Emmett sniggered.

**I saw the two Cullens and the Hale twins getting into their car. It was the shiny new Volvo. **

"What?" there was collective gasp in the room.

"You actually let us drive your car?" Emmett said astonished.

"Maybe I'm not at home." Edward guessed.

"You really left didn't you?" Esme asked sadly.

"I apologize Esme; I don't think I had much a choice." Edward said to his mother, for all intensive purposes.

Esme just sighed and continued to read.

**Of course. I hadn't noticed their clothes before —**

**I'd been too mesmerized by their faces. Now that I looked, it was obvious that they were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in clothes that subtly hinted at designer origins. **

Alice beamed.

**With their remarkable good looks, the style with which they carried themselves, they could have worn dishrags and pulled it off.**

**It seemed excessive for them to have both looks and money.**

"Probably." Carlisle grinned.

**But as far as I could tell, life worked that way most of the time. It didn't look as if it bought them any acceptance here.**

"I'm surprised she would think that. She seems smarter than that." Jasper said questionably.

**No, I didn't fully believe that. The isolation must be their desire; I couldn't imagine any door that wouldn't be opened by that degree of beauty.**

"I knew it!" Jasper said proudly; uncharacteristically.

**They looked at my noisy truck as I passed them, just like everyone else.**

**I kept my eyes straight forward and was relieved when I finally was free of the school grounds.**

**The Thriftway was not far from the school, just a few streets south, offs the highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; it felt normal. I did the shopping at home, and I fell into the pattern of the familiar task gladly. The store was big enough inside that I couldn't hear the tapping of the rain on the roof to remind me where I was.**

**When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries, stuffing them in wherever I could find an open space. I hoped Charlie wouldn't mind. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in marinade and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge.**

**When I was finished with that, I took my book bag upstairs. Before starting my homework, I changed into a pair of dry sweats, pulled my damp hair up into a pony-tail, and checked my e-mail for the first time. I had three messages.**

**"**_**Bella**_**," my mom wrote…**

_**Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it raining? I miss you already. I'm almost finished packing for Florida, but I can't find my pink blouse. Do you know where I put it? Phil says hi. Mom.**_

**I sighed and went to the next. It was sent eight hours after the first.**

**"**_**Bella**_**," she wrote…**

_**Why haven't you e-mailed me yet?**_

_**What are you waiting for? Mom.**_

**The last was from this morning.**

_**Isabella,**_

"Oh! Pulling out the first name!" Emmett said loudly.

_**If I **_**haven't heard from you by 5:30 pm today I'm calling Charlie.**

"Wow, her mom is being crazy!" Emmett snickered.

"No, she is just worried about her daughter." Esme said, defending Renee; she understood a mother's worry.

"Yeah, yeah." Emmett said dismissively.

**I checked the clock. I still had an hour, but my mom was well known for jumping the gun.**

_**Mom,**_

_**Calm down. I'm writing right now.**_

_**Don't do anything rash.**_

_**Bella.**_

**I sent that, and began again.**

_**Mom,**_

_**Everything is great. Of course it's raining. I was waiting for something to write about.**_

_**School isn't bad, just a little repetitive. I met some nice kids who sit by me at lunch. Your blouse is at the dry cleaners - you were supposed to pick it up Friday. **_

"Bella definitely seems like the more mature one." Edward said with a pity in his tone.

_**Charlie bought me a truck, can you believe it? I love it. It's old, but really sturdy, which is good, you know, for me.**_

"Ha!" Rosalie laughed at the obsceneness of Bella's car choices.

_**I miss you, too. I'll write again soon, but I'm not going to check my e-mail every five minutes. Relax, breathe. I love you.**_

_**Bella.**_

**I had decided to read Wuthering Heights — the novel we were currently studying in English —yet again for the fun of it,** **and that's what I was doing when Charlie came home. I'd lost track of the time, and I hurried downstairs to take the potatoes out and put the steak in to broil.**

**"Bella?" my father called out when he heard me on the stairs.**

**Who else? I thought to myself.**

"A murderer?" Alice guessed.

"No, why would a murderer ever go anywhere near a police officer's house." Emmett said.

"Charlie could have arrested them once." Alice countered.

"Still, Charlie has a gun too." Emmett argued back.

"Guys! Right now is NOT the time for this." Rosalie screeched, quieting them.

**"Hey, Dad, welcome home."**

**"Thanks." He hung up his gun belt and stepped out of his boots as I bustled about the kitchen. As far as I was aware, he'd never shot the gun on the job. But he kept it ready.**

**When I came here as a child, he would always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the door. I guess he considered me old enough now not to shoot myself by accident, and not depressed enough to shoot myself on purpose.**

"Good to know your girlfriend doesn't like to commit suicide." Emmett barked a laughed.

"I haven't even met her Emmett. She isn't my girlfriend… yet." He said the last part so quietly not even Jasper who was sitting next to him could hear him.

**"What's for dinner?" he asked warily. My mother was an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren't always edible. I was surprised, and sad, that he seemed to remember that far back.**

"Awkward…" Alice said in a small little singing voice.

**"Steak and potatoes," I answered, and he looked relieved.**

**He seemed to feel awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; he lumbered into the living room to watch TV while I worked. We were both more comfortable that way. I made a salad while the steaks cooked, and set the table.**

**I called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the room.**

**"Smells good, Bell."**

**"Thanks."**

**We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. Neither of us was bothered by the quiet. In some ways, we were well suited for living together.**

"That's nice. It sounds like this environment is a lot easier for her, than the one with her bubbly mother." Jasper observed.

**"So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" he asked as he was taking seconds.**

**"Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice." With one outstanding exception.**

"cough-Edward-cough!" Emmet said plainly blaming Edward.

**"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid — nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here."**

"Ew! I think that was Charlie 'Okaying' Mike Newton for Bella!" Alice squealed horrified. Edward growled.

"Come on Bella bring us up! Not Newton!" Emmett bellowed.

**"Do you know the Cullen family?" I asked hesitantly.**

"Yes!" Emmett and Alice said fist pounding. Everyone just shook their heads sadly at their family members.

**"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."**

**"They… the kids… are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school."**

"Yeah… just a bit." Jasper chuckled.

**Charlie surprised me by looking angry.**

"Oh my!" Esme gasped.

"Why is he getting mad?" Alice asked scared.

"What if he hits her?" Edward hissed venomously. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper growled at that.

"Let's not jump to conclusions, Esme, read on." Carlisle said, peacemaking as always.

**"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him — lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature — I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should — camping trips every other weekend… Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."**

"Wow." Emmett said; for once speechless.

"That… he… is very nice." Esme stuttering.

"Usually Humans don't take such a liking to us." Jasper said slightly amazed.

"Thank goodness!" Edward said taking an unnecessary deep breath.

"I'm surprised you all would assume he was abusive!" Carlisle said slightly ashamed his family would think something like this without a second glance.

"Sorry Carlisle, it's just, he got mad so suddenly for a very odd reason." Edward said, explaining his actions.

"Well, I guess where we can see where Bella gets her kind personality from." Rosalie said connecting things within the story.

**It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about whatever people were saying.**

**I backpedaled. "They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive," I added, trying to be more complimentary.**

**"You should see the doctor," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."**

Esme huffed but continued reading.

**We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while I started on the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after I finished washing the dishes by hand — no dishwasher — I went upstairs unwillingly to work on my math homework. I could feel a tradition in the making.**

**That night it was finally quiet. I fell asleep quickly, exhausted.**

**The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes. By Friday I was able to recognize, if not name, almost all the students at school. In Gym, the kids on my team learned not to pass me the ball and to step quickly in front of me if the other team tried to take advantage of my weakness. I happily stayed out of their way.**

"Hahahaha!" Emmett laughed.

**Edward Cullen didn't come back to school.**

Edward grimaced.

**Every day, I watched anxiously until the rest of the Cullens and Hales entered the cafeteria without him. Then I could relax and join in the lunchtime conversation. Mostly it centered around a trip to the La Push Ocean Park in two weeks that Mike was putting together. I was invited, and I had agreed to go, more out of politeness than desire.**

She is not going." Edward said aloud.

"Maybe you could get her not to go, well… maybe if you actually came to school and started acting social!" Alice said.

**Beaches should be hot and dry.**

"Not La Push!" Emmett said smirked.

**By Friday I was perfectly comfortable entering my Biology class, no longer worried that Edward would be there. For all I knew, he had dropped out of school. I tried not to think about him, but I couldn't totally suppress the worry that I was responsible for his continued absence, ridiculous as it seemed.**

**My first weekend in Forks passed without incident. Charlie, unused to spending time in the usually empty house, worked most of the weekend. I cleaned the house, got ahead on my homework, and wrote my mom more bogusly cheerful e-mail. I did drive to the library**

**but it was so poorly stocked that I didn't bother to get a card; I would have to make a date to visit Olympia or Seattle soon and find a good bookstore. I wondered idly what kind of gas mileage the truck got… and shuddered at the thought.**

"Maybe you should take her Edward!" Alice said smugly.

**The rain stayed soft over the weekend, quiet, so I was able to sleep well.**

**People greeted me in the parking lot Monday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder this morning, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by my side. We had a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights. It was straightforward, very easy.**

"You and Bella love the classics!" Alice squealed.

"Why would she like Wuthering Heights?" Edward questioned aloud.

"Guess you will find out one of these days." Rosalie said.

**All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I would feel by this point. More comfortable than I had ever expected to feel here.**

……………………………………………**..**

Edward smiled genuinely at that; because he was glad she was feeling accepted.

**When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white.**

**I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose.**

**"Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing."**

**I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face.**

"She's not going to like that" Rosalie and Jasper said at the same time.

**"Ewe." Snow. There went my good day.**

"Hahahahahaha!" Emmett laughed while Rosalie and Jasper sat there smugly.

**He looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"**

**"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Obviously. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes — you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."**

**"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.**

**"Sure I have."**

"Really Bella?" Alice asked incredulously.

**I paused." On TV."**

Everyone chuckled at her absurdity.

**Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of his head. We both turned to see where it came from. I had my suspicions about Eric, who was walking away, his back toward us — in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike apparently had the same notion. **

"Even though Eric is competition for Eddie, GO ERIC!" Emmett boomed.

Most chuckled. Most.

"Emmett!" Edward snarled. Obviously Emmett must have added something else to that statement in his mind to get a reaction like that from Edward.

**He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.**

**"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" I kept walking as I spoke. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."**

**He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.**

**Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. I kept my mouth shut. Sure, it was drier than rain — until it melted in your socks.**

"Ha-ha!" Emmett sniggered.

**I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. I kept a binder in my hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary.**

**Jessica thought I was hilarious, but something in my expression kept her from lobbing a snowball at me herself.**

**Mike caught up to us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I glanced toward that table in the corner out of habit. And then I froze where I stood. **

"Huh?" Alice said aloud.

**There were five people at the table.**

"Oh Shnap!" Emmett said snapping his fingers in a Z-formation.

"I'm there?" Edward asked dumbfounded.

"Unless Esme wanted to come to school with us, I'm guessing that's the case." Rose said.

"But, she is my singer! I should be staying away!" Edward said panicked.

"Well, maybe she wasn't as strong smelling as mine were, one was stronger. That's probably how you withstood." Emmett contemplated.

"Why would I stay away for so long then?" Edward asked.

"I don't know! Stop asking me questions! Esme, Do it!" Emmett said loudly.

**Jessica pulled on my arm.**

**"Hello? Bella? What do you want?"**

**I looked down; my ears were hot. I had no reason to feel self-conscious, I reminded myself. I hadn't done anything wrong.**

"Oh, poor Bella." Rosalie said, glaring at Edward.

**"What's with Bella?" Mike asked Jessica.**

"Oh, she's just terrified because a certain vampire was glaring at her, then vanished, and now is back. That's all!" Emmett said jokingly sarcastic.

**"Nothing," I answered. "I'll just get a soda today." I caught up to the end of the line.**

**"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.**

**"Actually, I feel a little sick," I said, my eyes still on the floor.**

"Now you got her not eating!" Rosalie hissed at Edward. Rosalie was getting very protective over Bella.

**I waited for them to get their food, and then followed them to a table, my eyes on my feet.**

**I sipped my soda slowly, my stomach churning. Twice Mike asked, with unnecessary concern, how I was feeling.**

**I told him it was nothing, but I was wondering if I should play it up and escape to the nurse's office for the next hour.**

"Don't run Bella! You have to meet him properly! Then fall in love!" Alice squealed; being… well, Alicy.

**Ridiculous. I shouldn't have to run away.**

"Good job Bella!" Alice praised happily.

**I decided to permit myself one glance at the Cullen family's table. If he was glaring at me, I would skip Biology, like the coward I was.**

"Oh, please tell me your not glaring at her, please!" Alice said.

"Manners, manners, manners!" Esme sang.

"If you are glaring at her, I'm going to kill you." Rosalie seethed.

**I kept my head down and glanced up under my lashes. None of them were looking this way. I lifted my head a little.**

**They were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else — only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us.**

"Great! How does she pick up on us this well? Alice probably told us to look 'normal'." Jasper said astonished, once again.

**But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I examined Edward the most carefully.**

"Aw!" Alice cooed.

**His skin was less pale, I decided — flushed from the snow fight maybe —**

"Or mountain lion." Emmett suggested.

**The circles under his eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. I pondered, staring, trying to isolate the change.**

"I'm going to guess it's our eyes, but maybe she won't pick up on it." Edward said hopefully; probably in vain though.

**"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded, her eyes following my stare.**

**At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to meet mine.**

"See! Once again! You are only picking it up when Jessica is thinking your name, not Bella." Jasper said confused.

"Maybe…" Carlisle started.

"No, that's never happened before!" Edward said panicky again.

"It seems to be plausible enough." Carlisle amended; everyone else confused.

"Hello? Come on, what are you guys talking about?" Emmett whined.

"My theory is that plausibly Edward can't 'read' Bella's mind." Carlisle said carefully.

"What!" Everyone blanched.

"Well, it makes sense. He has in the past (for the book) was looking at her confused, not understanding her. Never looking up at her, when we knew she was thinking about us. I believe that, that is the case here." Carlisle explained for everyone.

"That's never happened before though." Edward said, worried.

"Maybe it's because she is your singer." Rosalie guessed

"Or maybe it's a power, and it's so strong she has it during her human life." Alice guessed, also.

**I dropped my head, letting my hair fall to conceal my face. I was sure, though, in the instant our eyes met, that he didn't look harsh or unfriendly as he had the last time I'd seen him. He looked merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way.**

"I think that proves your theory." Alice said.

Edward sighed heavily.

**"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled in my ear.**

**"He doesn't look angry, does he?" I couldn't help asking.**

**"No," she said, sounding confused by my question. "Should he be?"**

"No one knows anymore." Emmett chuckled.

**"I don't think he likes me," I confided. I still felt queasy. I put my head down on my arm.**

Edward frowned.

"Oh, Bella, he doesn't like you..." Alice said.

"Yes I do, what are you talking about Alice." Edward cut in.

Alice ignored him and finished. "He loves you."

"Esme." Was all Edward said in response.

**"The Cullens don't like anybody…well; they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."**

**"Stop looking at him," I hissed.**

**She snickered, but she looked away. I raised my head enough to make sure that she did, contemplating violence if she resisted.**

"Ha-ha! Bella… violent! I would L.O.V.E. to watch that!" Emmett laughed.

**Mike interrupted us then — he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted us to join. Jessica agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. I kept silent. I would have to hide in the gym until the parking lot cleared.**

**Everyone is the room chuckled at her odd hatred for snow.**

**For the rest of the lunch hour I very carefully kept my eyes at my own table. I decided to honor the bargain I'd made with myself. Since he didn't look angry, I would go to Biology. **

"Yeah! She's going to fall in love today!" Alice squealed.

"Okay, Alice, I haven't even said one word to her yet, just glared at her, she isn't going to fall in love at the moment." Edward said.

"Well… at the moment! Just wait!" Alice said confidently.

**My stomach did frightened little flips at the thought of sitting next to him again.**

**I didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual — he seemed to be a popular target for the snowball snipers — but when we went to the door, everyone besides me groaned in unison.**

"No snow?" Carlisle guessed.

**It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. **

Carlisle just smirked.

**I pulled my hood up, secretly pleased. I would be free to go straight home after Gym.**

**Mike kept up a string of complaints on the way to building four.**

**Once inside the classroom, I saw with relief that my table was still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes away from the door, doodling idly on the cover of my notebook.**

**I heard very clearly when the chair next to me moved,**

"Eh! You're here!" Alice squealed again.

**but my eyes stayed carefully focused on the pattern I was drawing.**

**"Hello," said a quiet, musical voice.**

**I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me.**

"Ah! Yes! Perfect! You're being nice! So excited! Can't wait!" Alice said bouncing around.

**He was sitting as far away from me as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward me. His hair was dripping wet, disheveled — even so, he looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were careful.**

"Yeah! You're being friendly!" Alice said, excitedly.

"This is the mannerly Edward we know and love." Esme said.

**"My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."**

**My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made up the whole thing? He was perfectly polite now. I had to speak; he was waiting. But I couldn't think of anything conventional to say.**

**"H-how do you know my name?" I stammered.**

**He laughed a soft, enchanting laugh.**

"Don't laugh at her!" Rosalie hissed.

**"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive."**

"She isn't going to like that." Emmett said chuckling.

**I grimaced. I knew it was something like that.**

Everyone started laughing.

**"No," I persisted stupidly. "I meant, why did you call me Bella?"**

**He seemed confused. "Do you prefer Isabella?"**

"Maybe you're making her so mad, you are not allowed to call her Bella." Emmett mocked Edward.

**"No, I like Bella," I said. "But I think Charlie — I mean my dad — must call me Isabella behind my back — that's what everyone here seems to know me as," I tried to explain, feeling like an utter moron.**

**"Oh." He let it drop. I looked away awkwardly.**

"Why is that?" Esme asked.

"I don't understand either." Jasper admitted sheepishly.

"Well, if you haven't noticed, people have been calling her Isabella, not Bella. Also, Edward had been gone, so he wouldn't have picked up on it. But he did pick up on it, through peoples' minds." Carlisle explained the best he could.

"Wow, she noticed a mistake unconsciously." Jasper said in awe.

"She is just… wow." Edward said, at loss of words

**Thankfully, Mr. Banner started class at that moment. I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly. We weren't supposed to use our books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right.**

**"Get started," he commanded.**

**"Ladies first, partner?" Edward asked. **

"Good manners Edward." Esme praised.

**I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I could only stare at him like an idiot.**

"Hahaha! Emmett booming laugh filled the room.

**"Or I could start, if you wish." The smile faded; he was obviously wondering if I was mentally competent.**

**"No," I said, flushing. "I'll go ahead."**

**I was showing off, just a little. I'd already done this lab, and I knew what I was looking for.**

"Hey, so did he!" Emmett said.

"She is a smart one Edward!" Carlisle complimented. Edward grinned.

**It should be easy. I snapped the first slide into place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to the 40X objective. I studied the slide briefly.**

**My assessment was confident." Prophase."**

**"Do you mind if I look?" he asked as I began to remove the slide. **

"Doubting her? Not complimentarily Eddie." Emmett said, giving Edward advice. Edward growled at his nickname.

**His hand caught mine, to stop me, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class.**

"Oh! Mistake number dose!" Emmett mocked.

**But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us.**

"OH. EM. GEE. IT'S THE MAGICAL LOVE SPARK! THIS IS LIKE A FAIRY TALE!" Alice squealed happily. Esme was beaming of course, while Edward tried to hide his smile.

**"I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had.**

**"Prophase," he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily.**

**"Anaphase," he murmured, writing it down as he spoke.**

"Showing off are we Eddie?" Emmett asked mockingly.

**I kept my voice indifferent. "May I?"**

**He smirked and pushed the microscope to me.**

"You guys are so cute!" Alice gushed.

**I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right.**

"Bwahahahahaha!" Emmett boomed loudly.

**"Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at him.**

**He handed it to me; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch my skin again.**

**I took the most fleeting look I could manage.**

**"Interphase." I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. I would have written it while he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated me. I didn't want to spoil the page with my clumsy scrawl.**

**We were finished before anyone else was close. I could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open under the table.**

**This left me with nothing to do but try to not look at him… unsuccessfully. I glanced up, and he was staring at me, that same inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes.**

"Definitely no mind reading going on." Rosalie said, laughing a little bit.

**Suddenly I identified that subtle difference in his face.**

"Uh oh." Alice, Emmett, and Jasper said at the same time; also ending Rosalie's laughing.

**"Did you get contacts?" I blurted out unthinkingly.**

"How!" Edward said loudly. Everyone stared at him a bit stunned.

"Sorry. It's just… I don't get how she is observing all of this." Edward said a bit exasperated.

"I know, we all are confused by her." Esme said comforting Edward's emotions.

**He seemed puzzled by my unexpected question.**

**"No."**

**"Oh," I mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your eyes."**

**He shrugged, and looked away.**

"Edward, that's not a very good cover up."Rosalie huffed.

**In fact, I was sure there was something different. I vividly remembered the flat black color of his eyes the last time he'd glared at me — the color was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn hair. Today, his eyes were a completely different color: a strange ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone. I didn't understand how that could be, unless he was lying for some reason about the contacts. Or maybe Forks was making me crazy in the literal sense of the word.**

"So observant!" Alice said.

**I looked down. His hands were clenched into hard fists again.**

"Whoops! Something tells me he noticed that mistake too." Jasper said.

"Ah! I can't do anything right!" Edward said, running his hand through his hair nervously.

**Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers.**

**"So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.**

"Hey! Bella is smartical too!" Emmett said, defending Bella.

**"Bella," Edward corrected automatically. **

"Automatically, eh?" Rosalie said smirking.

**"Actually, she identified three of the five."**

**Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expression was skeptical.**

**"Have you done this lab before?" he asked.**

**I smiled sheepishly. "Not with onion root."**

**"Whitefish blastula?"**

**"Yeah."**

**Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"**

**"Yes."**

"It's a good thing she is smart, I couldn't deal with a dumb human." Rosalie said.

**"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess its good you two are lab partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away. After he left, I began doodling on my notebook again.**

**"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked.**

"Weather really? You're asking about the weather! Of all the things you could ask someone! Especially Bella! She hates snow!" Alice scolded her 'brothers' socialization skills.

**I had the feeling that he was forcing himself to make small talk with me. Paranoia swept over me again. It was like he had heard my conversation with Jessica at lunch and was trying to prove me wrong.**

"Wow, good guesses! He most likely did!" Jasper said.

**"Not really," I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else.**

**I was still trying to dislodge the stupid feeling of suspicion, and I couldn't concentrate.**

**"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.**

"Aw, Edward, she likes you! Just 'cuz she dislikes the cold, doesn't mean that she doesn't like you!" Alice said, trying to convince the book Edward.

**"Or the wet."**

**"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," he mused.**

**"You have no idea," I muttered darkly.**

"Wow, Bella doesn't seem to be one of those kinds of people that open up all that easily." Carlisle said.

"Well, it's Edward. He is the one person she is supposed to open up to." Alice explained.

**He looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine.**

"Well, probably because this is the first time anyone is saying anything without him knowing what they what they were going to say." Jasper said.

"She also doesn't say things that are expected, so he must be blown away." Alice added giggling.

**His face was such a distraction that I tried not to look at it any more than courtesy absolutely demanded.**

"Ha-ha, she is so weird!"Emmett snickered.

"Tactful though." Jasper said.

**"Why did you come here, then?"**

**No one had asked me that — not straight out like he did, demanding.**

"Don't pressure the answers out of her Edward!" Esme chastened.

**"It's… complicated."**

**"I think I can keep up," he pressed.**

"Edward! This girl certainly makes you lose your mannerly side!" Esme said.

"Hey, at least he doesn't seem as strait-laced as usual." Emmett mocked.

"It's not her fault Esme." Edward said defending Bella.

"Oh, don't worry Edward; I know it's not her fault. You on the other hand are making this family and yourself look like hooligans!" Esme scolded.

"I really don't want her to get a bad impression. I just don't think I could help myself. I can't even imagine not being able to read someone's mind." Edward said, frustrated at the thought.

"Ummm… why don't we just keep reading?" Carlisle said; but it came out as a question; since Esme was a bit miffed at the moment.

"Okay, sorry…" Esme said quietly. Edward winced; Esme must of continued her scolding in her head.

**I paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of meeting his gaze. His dark gold eyes confused me, and I answered without thinking.**

**"My mother got remarried," I said.**

"You're hypnotizing the answers out of her!" Rosalie hissed at Edward. Esme frowned.

**"That doesn't sound so complex," he disagreed, but he was suddenly sympathetic.**

**"When did that happen?"**

**"Last September." My voice sounded sad, even to me.**

**"And you don't like him," Edward surmised, his tone still kind.**

"Still pressing! Geez, Edward, give the girl some space!" Emmett laughed.

**"No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough."**

**"Why didn't you stay with them?"**

**I couldn't fathom his interest, but he continued to stare at me with penetrating eyes, as if my dull life's story was somehow vitally important.**

**"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living." I half-smiled.**

**"Have I heard of him?" he asked, smiling in response.**

"Wow, Edward, this is the most I've ever heard you talk to someone other than the family in all my existence."Emmett joked.

**"Probably not. He doesn't play well. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot."**

**"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him." He said it as an assumption again, not a question.**

"That was a rude assumption." Edward said to himself, ashamed.

**My chin raised a fraction." No, she did not send me here. I sent myself."**

"Wha?" Emmett said confused.

"No wonder Edward is quizzing her on her life, she is so confusing." Rosalie said bewildered.

**His eyebrows knit together. "I don't understand," he admitted, and he seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that fact.**

Everyone snickered.

**I sighed. Why was I explaining this to him? He continued to stare at me with obvious curiosity.**

**"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy… so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie." My voice was glum by the time I finished.**

"Wow, I didn't know humans do kind things like that." Rosalie said admittedly.

"She is such a nice girl." Esme said kindly.

"She is…" Edward started, but couldn't even finish.

**"But now you're unhappy," he pointed out.**

**"And?" I challenged.**

"My goodness, I feel so bad for her." Esme said sadly.

"Very selfless." Jasper said.

"Wow." Was all Edward could say.

**"That doesn't seem fair." He shrugged, but his eyes were still intense.**

**I laughed without humor. "Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair."**

**"I believe I have heard that somewhere before," he agreed dryly.**

**"So that's all," I insisted, wondering why he was still staring at me that way.**

**His gaze became appraising. "You put on a good show," he said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."**

"Rudely said, but true, she is very selfless seeming." Edward said.

**I grimaced at him, resisting the impulse to stick out my tongue like a five-year-old, and looked away.**

"That would have been hilarious!" Emmett boomed, laughing.

**"Am I wrong?" **

**I tried to ignore him.**

**"I didn't think so," he murmured smugly.**

Edward sighed deeply at his obvious ill-mannered-ness.

**"Why does it matter to you?" I asked, irritated.**

"Oh, now you've got her mad." Emmett sniggered, along with Jasper.

**I kept my eyes away, watching the teacher make his rounds.**

**"That's a very good question," he muttered, so quietly that I wondered if he was talking to himself. However, after a few seconds of silence, I decided that was the only answer I was going to get.**

**I sighed, scowling at the blackboard.**

**"Am I annoying you?" he asked. He sounded amused.**

"Yes!" Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and Alice all said at the same time.

"Whatever." Edward murmured.

**I glanced at him without thinking… and told the truth again. "Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read — my mother always calls me her open book." I frowned.**

"Not for Edward." Jasper chuckled.

**"On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read." Despite everything that I'd said and he'd guessed, he sounded like he meant it.**

"Well, that certainly confirmed it then." Edward said sadly.

**"You must be a good reader then," I replied.**

**"Usually." He smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, ultra white teeth.**

Edward grinned.

**Mr. Banner called the class to order then and I turned with relief to listen. I was in disbelief that I'd just explained my dreary life to this bizarre, beautiful boy who may or may not despise me. **

"He loves you Bella!" Alice said in a sing-song voice.

**He'd seemed engrossed in our conversation, but now I could see, from the corner of my eye, that he was leaning away from me again, his hands gripping the edge of the table with unmistakable tension.**

"Maybe he got too close during their conversation." Jasper guessed.

"Darn, just when I thought you were going to be normal again!" Alice pouted.

**I tried to appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated, with transparencies on the overhead projector, what I had seen without difficulty through the microscope. But my thoughts were unmanageable.**

**When the bell finally rang, Edward rushed as swiftly and as gracefully from the room as he had last Monday. And, like last Monday, I stared after him in amazement.**

"Just when you were doing so well too!" Emmett laughed.

"Ahhh!" Edward sighed, frustrated again.

**Mike skipped quickly to my side and picked up my books for me. I imagined him with a wagging tail.**

"Perfect!" Emmett boomed, everyone snickering.

**"That was awful," he groaned. "They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner."**

**"I didn't have any trouble with it," I said, stung by his assumption.**

"Stupid Newton assuming she isn't smart enough." Edward grumbled.

**I regretted the snub instantly. "I've done the lab before, though," I added before he could get his feelings hurt.**

"Ha! She is too nice." Emmett chuckled.

**"Cullen seemed friendly enough today," he commented as we shrugged into our raincoats. He didn't seem pleased about it.**

"**Course admirer #2 wouldn't. Edward you still aren't one yet though." Emmett said.**

**I tried to sound indifferent. "I wonder what was with him last Monday."**

**I couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as we walked to Gym, and RE. It didn't do much to hold my attention, either. Mike was on my team today. He chivalrously covered my position as well as his own, so my woolgathering was only interrupted when it was my turn to serve; my team ducked warily out of the way every time I was up.**

Emmett laughed.

**The rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab. I got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. I unzipped my jacket, put the hood down, and fluffed my damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home.**

**I looked around me to make sure it was clear. That's when I noticed the still, white figure. **

"Edward." Rosalie said positive.

**Edward Cullen was leaning against the front door of the Volvo, three cars down from me, and staring intently in my direction.**

"Stalking her Eddie?" Emmett mocked him.

**I swiftly looked away and threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in my haste. Lucky for the Toyota, I stomped on the brake in time. It was just the sort of car that my truck would make scrap metal of. **

"She just seems to attract bad things. An almost accident, Vampire sweethearts, what's next? Werewolf best friends? Ha-ha! Like that would ever happen!" Alice giggled.

**I took a deep breath, still looking out the other side of my car, and cautiously pulled out again, with greater success. I stared straight ahead as I passed the Volvo, but from a peripheral peek, I would swear I saw him laughing.**

"You act all indifferent, but you have the nerve to laugh at her. I don't get you!" Rosalie said to Edward.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, who's next?" Edward asked everyone, while Esme put the book down.

"I'll take that." Jasper said snatching the book up from the table.

_**(A/n: Here me out! I had it all finished and everything on Sunday, then somehow it vanished from my computer's existence! I even had saved it, but, No! It was gone! I know it makes no sense! But I tried to update as quickly as I could! Sorry! Hope you enjoyed the chapter though! :D)**_


	4. Phenomenon

**(A/N: I feel absolutely terrible for not updating! I have no excuse really. Just being a bad author. Sorry everyone! :( Also I have the time frame in this all mixed up, and I apologize. Think of it a month before Bella comes to Forks, in Twilight!)**

**"Phenomenon," **Jasper started.

**When I opened my eyes in the morning, something was different.**

"Edward was sitting in your room watching you sleep." Emmett guessed.

"Oh come on Emmett, I'm not some creepy stalker. I would never do something like that." Edward said immediately dismissing Emmett's idea. (A/n: I couldn't help but add that in! ha-ha!)

**It was the light. It was still the gray-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. I realized there was no fog veiling my window.**

"Sun! Yeah right! Dream on Bella! It's probably 'cuz it snowed!" Rosalie snorted.

**I jumped up to look outside, and then groaned in horror.**

**A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of my truck, and whitened the road. **

Rosalie just smiled prideful.

**But that wasn't the worst part. All the rain from yesterday had frozen solid — coating the needles on the trees in fantastic, gorgeous patterns, and making the driveway a deadly ice slick. I had enough trouble not falling down when the ground was dry; it might be safer for me to go back to bed now.**

"Yes!!! Oh, I can already tell that this is gonna be a good day!" Emmett chuckled.

*SMACK*

"Ow, Rosie! What was that for?!?" Emmett whined, rubbing the back of his head.

Jasper started reading, not letting Rosalie respond.

**Charlie had left for work before I got downstairs. In a lot of ways, living with Charlie was like having my own place, and I found myself reveling in the aloneness instead of being lonely.**

"You guys are just so perfect for each other!" Alice cooed.

"Why is that?" Edward questioned.

"You both are loners!" Emmett interjected.

**I threw down a quick bowl of cereal and some orange juice from the carton. I felt excited to go to school, and that scared me. **

"I wonder why that would be." Jasper commented sarcastically.

**I knew it wasn't the stimulating learning environment I was anticipating, or seeing my new set of friends. If I was being honest with myself, I knew I was eager to get to school because I would see Edward Cullen. **

"Awwwwwwwwwwwe!" All the girls said at the same time. Even Rosalie, who had come to like Bella. (A/n: I know you might not think Rose would like Bella, but this is my story! Also, if anyone, she is mad at Edward, not Bella.)

**And that was very, very stupid.**

Edward frowned.

**I should be avoiding him entirely after my brainless and embarrassing babbling yesterday. And I was suspicious of him; why should he lie about his eyes? **

"So she defiantly knows it's a lie." Carlisle said anxiously.

**I was still frightened of the hostility I sometimes felt emanating from him, and I was still tongue-tied whenever I pictured his perfect face. **

"She probably is so confused as to why you were staring at her with such hatred." Esme said, sympathy laced in her statement.

**I was well aware that my league and his league were spheres that did not touch. **

** So I shouldn't be at all anxious to see him today. **

**It took every ounce of my concentration to make it down the icy brick driveway alive. I almost lost my balance when I finally got to the truck, but I managed to cling to the side mirror and save myself. **

"Almost!" Emmett boomed, laughing.

**Clearly, today was going to be nightmarish.**

**Driving to school, I distracted myself from my fear of falling and my unwanted speculations about Edward Cullen by thinking about Mike and Eric, **

"What!" Edward snapped.

"Admirers 1 and 2!" Emmett exclaimed.

"Whoa, Edward, chill! I swear! I have never been hit with jealously so hard in my whole existence, as I have just now!" Jasper said frantically.

"Sorry Jasper." Edward apologized bashfully.

"It's k." Jasper said, placing a hand on Edward's shoulder to make his calming affect work more effectively.

**and the obvious difference in how teenage boys responded to me here. **

"Oh." Edward mumbled, embarrassed at how he became so jealous for no reason.

**I was sure I looked exactly the same as I had in Phoenix. Maybe it was just that the boys back home had watched me pass slowly through all the awkward phases of adolescence and still thought of me that way. Perhaps it was because I was a novelty here, where novelties were few and far between.**

"That's definitely true." Emmett said.

"I bet she is still beautiful though." Edward defended.

"I bet she is Edward, but you need to calm down. Wow, this girl is bringing out a whole new side of you." Carlisle chuckled out the last part.

**Possibly my crippling clumsiness was seen as endearing rather than pathetic, casting me as a damsel in distress.**

"Oh great! And now I'm guessing Edward is going to go and be her prince charming now. Oh you are too predictable Edward." Rosalie said, shaking her head.

"Oh! This is going to be like a fairy tale!" Alice squealed.

Edward rolled his eyes at both of their comments and waved Jasper on. But secretly he was marveling in the thought of being Bella's 'prince charming' though.

**Whatever the reason, Mike's puppy dog behavior and Eric's apparent rivalry with him were disconcerting. I wasn't sure if I didn't prefer being ignored.**

**My truck seemed to have no problem with the black ice that covered the roads.**

"Really? You would think that hunk of junk would have failed on her because of the ice." Rosalie said incredulously.

**I drove very slowly, though, not wanting to carve a path of destruction through Main Street.**

**When I got out of my truck at school, I saw why I'd had so little trouble. Something silver caught my eye,** **and I walked to the back of the truck — carefully holding the side for support — to examine my tires. **

**There were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes around them. Charlie had gotten up who knows how early to put snow chains on my truck. My throat suddenly felt tight. I wasn't used to being taken care of, and Charlie's unspoken concern caught me by surprise.**

"Aw, that was sweet of him. I feel bad for her." Esme said compassionately, in a motherly fashion.

"Why?" Emmett questioned.

"Well, obviously, her mother didn't seem to have taken care of her, so she was surprised to be taken care of. It's really sad. Edward you better take good care of this girl." Esme explained/ demanded.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Edward said, while everyone else shook their heads sadly at Bella's situation.

**I was standing by the back corner of the truck, struggling to fight back the sudden wave of emotion the snow chains had brought on, when I heard an odd sound. It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. I looked up, startled.**

"Oh no." Everyone all said at the same time. It would have been comical in a different setting, but they all had come to care for Bella.

**I saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make my brain work much faster, and I was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once.**

"What could it be?" Alice said worried, while Jasper pulled her to him, in comfort.

"Maybe it's not that bad, humans always over react to everything." Rosalie reassured them, but it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than everyone else.

**Edward Cullen was standing four cars down from me, staring at me in horror. His face stood out from a sea of faces, all frozen in the same mask of shock. **

"Okay, this can't be good! Even Edward is horrified!" Esme said slightly shaken.

"Oh Bella." Was all Edward said, as he put his face in his hands**.**

**But of more immediate importance was the dark blue van that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of my truck, and I was standing between them. **

"Bella!" Edward yelled, not so quietly. Alice and Esme were both crying quietly into their respective mate's chests. (A/n: obviously dry crying. No tears.) And Rose was leaning into Emmett with her eyes closed.

**I didn't even have time to close my eyes.**

"Oh no, no, no." Alice mumbled out repeatedly, still crying.

**Just before I heard the shattering crunch of the van folding around the truck bed, something hit me, hard, but not from the direction I was expecting.**

"What?" Esme whispered hopeful.

**My head cracked against the icy blacktop, **

"No!" Edward and Rosalie said at the same time. Carlisle cringed imagining all the times he had seen car accident victims.

"Carlisle!" Edward growled at his father figure for putting those thoughts in his mind.

"Sorry." He said apologetically, blocking the idea from his own mind.

"Keep reading." Emmett said firmly, finally. He was not acting like his usual carefree self.

**and I felt something solid and cold pinning me to the ground. **

"What is it? I'm really confused! So she is out of the way now?" Rosalie asked, her voice wavering.

**I was lying on the pavement behind the tan car I'd parked next to.**

"Yeah! I think she is!!!" Alice said happily, but still shaken.

**But I didn't have a chance to notice anything else, because the van was still coming. It had curled gratingly around the end of the truck and, still spinning and sliding, was about to collide with me again.**

"No Bella! Why!!!" Alice yelled dejectedly. But she didn't start crying again, that only left Esme, who hadn't stopped.

**A low oath made me aware that someone was with me, and the voice was impossible not to recognize.**

"Someone saved her!?!" Esme smiled hopeful, calming down a bit.

"No," Jasper said.

Esme's smiled faded.

"Edward did." Jasper finished, making Esme's smile reappear even brighter.

"Oh thank goodness." Edward mumbled, saying something for the first time, running his hand through his hair, stressed out.

**Two long, white hands shot out protectively in front of me, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from my face, the large hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the van's body.**

"If I didn't like Bella so much, I would kill you right now." Rosalie said menacingly, but a small smile played across her face.

**Then his hands moved so fast they blurred. One was suddenly gripping under the body of the van, and something was dragging me, swinging my legs around like a ragdoll's, till they hit the tire of the tan car. A groaning metallic thud hurt my ears, and the van settled, glass popping, onto the asphalt — exactly where, a second ago, my legs had been.**

"You… you lifted a van off of her?" Emmett said shocked.

"I guess so." Edward said, just as shocked.

"Good job, Romeo." Rosalie said rolling her eyes, but smiling.

"Good job Edward!" Esme said beaming, hugging Edward.

"Um," Carlisle said to get everyone's attention.

"She just saw all of that." He finished.

"Oh crap." Emmett muttered.

"She was already so suspicious! Oh, this is bad!" Jasper said frantically.

"Oh Edward." Rosalie said livid.

"I wasn't going to let her die!!!" Edward defended.

"But… yeah, I know." Rosalie sighed, defeated.

"I knew this was going to be interesting, but, oh geez." Emmett chuckled.

"Keep reading Jasper!" Alice squealed, jubilant with the turn of events.

**It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began. In the abrupt bedlam, I could hear more than one person shouting my name. But more clearly than all the yelling, I could hear Edward Cullen's low, frantic voice in my ear.**

**"Bella? Are you all right?"**

**"I'm fine." My voice sounded strange. I tried to sit up, and realized he was holding me against the side of his body in an iron grasp.**

**"Be careful," he warned as I struggled. "I think you hit your head pretty hard."**

"**I became aware of a throbbing ache centered above my left ear.**

**"Ow," I said, surprised.**

"Ha-ha-ha!" Emmett laughed, amused.

"She is too stubborn and selfless." Edward said shaking his head. But he knew that, that was exactly what he loved about her. _(A/N: I know I kinda rushed into his feelings but as mates I believe the love would have been instant. Jasper and Alice were instant. Rosalie (granitite he looked like Vera's child) saved Emmett and she was his 'angel' instantly. Plus… MY STORY! NO LIKE, NO READ! Thank you.)_

**"That's what I thought." His voice, amazingly, sounded like he was suppressing laughter. **

"Oh Edward, be kind!" Esme reprimanded.

"I'll keep that in mind. Sorry Esme." Edward said, appeasing her.

**"How in the…" I trailed off, trying to clear my head, get my bearings. "How did you get over here so fast?"**

"Oh, great. Here we go." Jasper groaned.

"He will just make up an excuse, no worry." Carlisle said.

**"I was standing right next to you, Bella," he said, his tone serious again.**

"DUDE! She saw everything! No going back now!" Emmett bellowed.

"Nah, we can get humans to believe anything." Rosalie commented.

"Bella is too stubborn. She won't believe me. I just know it." Edward said.

**I turned to sit up, and this time he let me, releasing his hold around my waist and sliding as far from me as he could in the limited space. I looked at his concerned, innocent expression and was disoriented again by the force of his gold-colored eyes.**

**What was I asking him?**

"Hahaha, maybe it will be a bit easier than we anticipated." Emmett chuckled.

**And then they found us, a crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces, shouting at each other, shouting at us.**

**"Don't move," someone instructed.**

**"Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.**

"Tyler." Edward growled, eyes narrowed, fists and jaw clenched.

"We'll have to talk to Chief Swan about making Tyler redo his driver's test, before Bella gets here." Jasper said, caring about Bella's well being. _(a/n: I love Jasper and he really does care about Bella! No one ever gives him enough credit!)_

**There was a flurry of activity around us. I tried to get up, but Edward's cold hand pushed my shoulder down.**

**"Just stay put for now."**

**"But it's cold," I complained. **

"Of all the…" Edward said chuckling.

"**Of all the…" Edward said shaking his head sat Bella's antics.**

"That was funny! Real Eddie and book Eddie did the same exact thing!" Emmett said, bellowing a laugh.

"Shut up Emmett… and DON'T CALL ME EDDIE!" Edward yelled.

"Whatever… Eddie." Emmett said snickering.

"Emmett! Stop it, you idiot! You're so stupid!" Edward seethed.

"Don't call me names! You're mean… Eddie!" Emmett retorted childishly.

"I'll start being nice when you stop being stupid." Edward shot back.

"Hey! Everyone is entitled to be stupid sometimes!" Emmett hollered back, stupidly.

"Yeah, but you abuse that power!" Edward said, glowering back.

"Well… well… you're so mean that… that… Bella won't even want to go out with you!" Emmett said, stuttering for an offensive comment.

"Well… If stupidity was a crime you would get the electric chair!" Edward stated, not being able to come up with a better response.

"Guys! Both of you, Shut Up, stop coming up with bad comebacks, and Calm Down!" Jasper yelled. And almost instantly they calmed down. Thanks to Jasper that is.

**It surprised me when he chuckled under his breath. There was an edge to the sound.**

**"You were over there," I suddenly remembered, and his chuckle stopped short.**

"Way to be discreet Edward." Rosalie huffed.

**"You were by your car."**

**His expression turned hard. "No, I wasn't."**

**"I saw you." All around us was chaos. I could hear the gruffer voices of adults arriving on the scene. But I obstinately held on to our argument; I was right, and he was going to admit it.**

"Stubborn." Edward muttered.

**"Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way." He unleashed the full, devastating power of his eyes on me, as if trying to communicate something crucial.**

"Insert Bella turns into jelly." Alice said giggling.

**"No." I set my jaw.**

"Oh! Never mind, stubborn Bella instead. Good. This side of her is more entertaining. Ha-ha!" Alice laughed.

**The gold in his eyes blazed. "Please, Bella."**

"Well, now it's pretty obvious your hiding something!" Rosalie said, agitatedly throwing her arms in the air.

**"Why?" I demanded.**

**"Trust me," he pleaded, his soft voice overwhelming.**

**I could hear the sirens now. "Will you promise to explain everything to me later?"**

**"Fine," he snapped, abruptly exasperated.**

**"Fine," I repeated angrily.**

**It took six EMTs and two teachers — Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp — to shift the van far enough away from us to bring the stretchers in. Edward vehemently refused his, and I tried to do the same, but the traitor told them I'd hit my head and probably had a concussion.**

"Nice." Jasper snickered, before continuing.

**I almost died of humiliation when they put on the neck brace. It looked like the entire school was there, watching soberly as they loaded me in the back of the ambulance. Edward got to ride in the front. It was maddening.**

"Aw!" Alice cooed.

**To make matters worse, Chief Swan arrived before they could get me safely away.**

"Oh, poor Charlie. It would be terrible seeing your child in a neck brace on a stretcher." Esme said sadly.

**"Bella!" he yelled in panic when he recognized me on the stretcher.**

**"I'm completely fine, Char — Dad," I sighed. "There's nothing wrong with me."**

**He turned to the closest EMT for a second opinion. I tuned him out to consider the jumble of inexplicable images churning chaotically in my head. When they'd lifted me away from the car, I had seen the deep dent in the tan car's bumper — a very distinct dent that fit the contours of Edward's shoulders… as if he had braced himself against the car with enough force to damage the metal frame…**

"Great Edward. Way to destroy evidence." Emmett joked.

"Your acting skills are not working out very well, brother dearest." Alice said, picking on her brother.

**And then there was his family, looking on from the distance, with expressions that ranged from disapproval to fury, but held no hint of concern for their brother's safety.**

"Yes, and I can see that yours are not fairing too well either, sister dearest." Edward countered.

**I tried to think of a logical solution that could explain what I had just seen — a solution that excluded the assumption that I was insane.**

**Naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital. I felt ridiculous the whole time they were unloading me. What made it worse was that Edward simply glided through the hospital doors under his own power. I ground my teeth together.**

"She has quite the temper when it comes to you, son" Esme commented. Edward grinned.

**They put me in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on my arm and a thermometer under my tongue. Since no one bothered pulling the curtain around to give me some privacy, I decided I wasn't obligated to wear the stupid-looking neck brace anymore. **

**When the nurse walked away, I quickly unfastened the Velcro and threw it under the bed.**

"Well, now I know where to look when we run out, at the hospital." Carlisle chuckled, good-naturedly.

**There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought to the bed next to me. I recognized Tyler Crowley from my Government class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. Tyler looked a hundred times worse than I felt. But he was staring anxiously at me.**

**"Bella, I'm so sorry!"**

"You better be." Edward muttered.

**"I'm fine, Tyler — you look awful, are you all right?" As we spoke, nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallow slices all over his forehead and left cheek.**

**He ignored me. "I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong…" He winced as one nurse started dabbing at his face.**

**"Don't worry about it; you missed me."**

**"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone…"**

"Oh please Bella." Rosalie begged.

**"Umm… Edward pulled me out of the way."**

"Yes!" Rosalie said, smiling.

**He looked confused. "Who?"**

**"Edward Cullen — he was standing next to me." I'd always been a terrible liar; I didn't sound convincing at all.**

"Wow, so she actually used my excuse." Edward said, a bit stunned.

"Of course she did! Bella wouldn't do that to our family!" Alice said, sticking up for Bella.

**"Cullen? I didn't see him… wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?"**

**"I think so. He's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher."**

**I knew I wasn't crazy. What had happened? There was no way to explain away what I'd seen.**

"Yes, so just forget about it and drop it!" Edward said.

"**They wheeled me away then, to X-ray my head. I told them there was nothing wrong, and I was right. Not even a concussion. **

"Darn." Edward grumbled.

"Edward!"Esme gasped.

"Mother, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I was using her hitting her head as an excuse, so now it's just going to be harder to persuade her into believing that what she saw wasn't real." Edward explained.

**I asked if I could leave, but the nurse said I had to talk to a doctor first. So I was trapped in the ER, waiting, harassed by Tyler's constant apologies and promises to make it up to me. **

"He has admirer potential." Emmett said, while Edward's eyes narrowed.

**No matter how many times I tried to convince him I was fine, he continued to torment himself. Finally, I closed my eyes and ignored him. He kept up a remorseful mumbling. **

Everyone laughed a bit at that.

**"Is she sleeping?" a musical voice asked. My eyes flew open.**

"AWWWWW!" Alice sighed.

**Edward was standing at the foot of my bed, smirking. I glared at him. It wasn't easy — it would have been more natural to ogle.**

"Hahaha!" Emmett's booming laughter filled the room.

**"Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry —"Tyler began.**

**Edward lifted a hand to stop him.**

**"No blood, no foul," he said, flashing his brilliant teeth.**

Jasper snorted.

**He moved to sit on the edge of Tyler's bed, facing me. He smirked again.**

**"So, what's the verdict?" he asked me.**

**"There's nothing wrong with me at all, but they won't let me go," I complained. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"**

**"It's all about who you know," he answered. "But don't worry, I came to spring you."**

**Then a doctor walked around the corner, and my mouth fell open. **

"It must be Carlisle. No matter how GOOD LOOKING we are, everyone always reacts more towards Carlisle!" Emmett pouted.

**He was young, he was blond… and he was handsomer than any movie star I'd ever seen.**

Edward huffed, while Carlisle smiled slightly, amused.

**He was pale, though, and tired-looking, with circles under his eyes. From Charlie's description, this had to be Edward's father.**

"The ever observant one." Jasper said, rolling his eyes.

**"So, Miss Swan," Dr. Cullen said in a remarkably appealing voice, "how are you feeling?"**

**"I'm fine," I said, for the last time, I hoped.**

**He walked to the light board on the wall over my head, and turned it on.**

**"Your X-rays look good," he said. "Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard."**

"Ohhh, she isn't gonna like that." Emmett sniggered.

**"It's fine," I repeated with a sigh, throwing a quick scowl toward Edward.**

"Told you." Emmett threw in.

**The doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along my skull. He noticed when I winced.**

**"Tender?" he asked.**

**"Not really." I'd had worse.**

**Edward shook his head.**

**I heard a chuckle, and looked over to see Edward's patronizing smile. My eyes narrowed.**

**"Well, your father is in the waiting room — you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all."**

**"Can't I go back to school?" I asked, imagining Charlie trying to be attentive.**

**"Maybe you should take it easy today."**

**I glanced at Edward. "Does he get to go to school?"**

**"Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," Edward said smugly.**

"You're such a jerk sometimes." Rosalie said glaring.

**"Actually," Dr. Cullen corrected, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room."**

"Yeah, that's going to make her feel better." Alice said sarcastically.

**"Oh no," I moaned, covering my face with my hands.**

**Dr. Cullen raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to stay?"**

**"No, no!" I insisted, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and hopping down quickly. Too quickly — I staggered, and Dr. Cullen caught me. He looked concerned.**

Edward huffed again, but no one paid him any mind.

**"I'm fine," I assured him again. No need to tell him my balance problems had nothing to do with hitting my head.**

Everyone laughed again.

**"Take some Tylenol for the pain," he suggested as he steadied me.**

**"It doesn't hurt that bad," I insisted.**

**"It sounds like you were extremely lucky," Dr. Cullen said, smiling as he signed my chart with a flourish.**

**"Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me," I amended with a hard glance at the subject of my statement.**

**"Oh, well, yes," Dr. Cullen agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him.**

"Bad move Carlisle." Alice said.

**Then he looked away, at Tyler, and walked to the next bed. My intuition flickered; the doctor was in on it.**

"Nothing gets past that girl, does it?" Jasper asked, shaking his head in awe.

**"I'm afraid that you'll have to stay with us just a little bit longer," he said to Tyler, and began checking his cuts.**

**As soon as the doctor's back was turned, I moved to Edward's side.**

"Uh oh, you're in for it now." Emmett snickered.

**"Can I talk to you for a minute?" I hissed under my breath. He took a step back from me, his jaw suddenly clenched.**

**"Your father is waiting for you," he said through his teeth.**

**I glanced at Dr. Cullen and Tyler.**

**"I'd like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind," I pressed.**

**He glared, and then turned his back and strode down the long room. I nearly had to run to keep up. As soon as we turned the corner into a short hallway, he spun around to face me.**

**"What do you want?" he asked, sounding annoyed. His eyes were cold.**

"Grrrrreat. Beautifully done, Edward. Very charming." Rosalie said sarcastically.

**His unfriendliness intimidated me. My words came out with less severity than I'd intended. "You owe me an explanation," I reminded him.**

**"I saved your life — I don't owe you anything."**

"Oh Shnap!" Emmett exclaimed, while snapping.

**I flinched back from the resentment in his voice. "You promised."**

**"Bella, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about." His tone was cutting.**

"That's not going to work on her." Alice stated.

**My temper flared now, and I glared defiantly at him. "There's nothing wrong with my head."**

**He glared back. "What do you want from me, Bella?"**

**"I want to know the truth," I said. "I want to know why I'm lying for you."**

**"What do you think happened?" he snapped.**

**It came out in a rush.**

"**Here we go." Emmett said.**

**"All I know is that you weren't anywhere near me —Tyler didn't see you, either, so don't tell me I hit my head too hard. That van was going to crush us both — and it didn't, and your hands left dents in the side of it — and you left a dent in the other car, and you're not hurt at all — and the van should have smashed my legs, but you were holding it up…" I could hear how crazy it sounded, and I couldn't continue. I was so mad I could feel the tears coming; I tried to force them back by grinding my teeth together.**

"Wow… just, wow." Edward said stunned.

"She caught EVERYTHING!" Jasper emphasized.

"She is so cool!" Alice chirped; Emmett chorusing in a 'Yeah!'

"She is one extraordinary girl." Esme commented; Rosalie and Carlisle both nodding in agreement.

**He was staring at me incredulously. But his face was tense, defensive.**

**"You think I lifted a van off you?" His tone questioned my sanity, but it only made me more suspicious. It was like a perfectly delivered line by a skilled actor.**

"Her guesses are right on the spot." Rosalie said**.**

**I merely nodded once, jaw tight.**

**"Nobody will believe that, you know." His voice held an edge of derision now.**

"He didn't reject her story." Jasper commented.

**"I'm not going to tell anybody." I said each word slowly, carefully controlling my anger.**

**Surprise flitted across his face. **

**"Then why does it matter?"**

"Okay Edward, you are very bad at keeping pretenses." Rosalie sighed, annoyed.

**"It matters to me," I insisted. "I don't like to lie — so there'd better be a good reason why I'm doing it."**

"She's such a good girl." Esme beamed.

**"Can't you just thank me and get over it?"**

"Ouch, Edward." Alice said.

"I know." Edward groaned, running his hand through his hair in frustration.

**"Thank you." I waited, fuming and expectant.**

**"You're not going to let it go, are you?"**

**"No."**

**"In that case… I hope you enjoy disappointment."**

"Burn!" Emmett wailed.

**We scowled at each other in silence. I was the first to speak, trying to keep myself focused. I was in danger of being distracted by his livid, glorious face. It was like trying to stare down a destroying angel.**

**"Why did you even bother?" I asked frigidly.**

**He paused, and for a brief moment his stunning face was unexpectedly vulnerable.**

**"I don't know," he whispered.**

**And then he turned his back on me and walked away.**

"That was weird Edward. Even for you." Emmett said

**I was so angry, it took me a few minutes until I could move. When I could walk, I made my way slowly to the exit at the end of the hallway.**

**The waiting room was more unpleasant than I'd feared. It seemed like every face I knew in Forks was there, staring at me. Charlie rushed to my side; I put up my hands.**

**"There's nothing wrong with me," I assured him sullenly. I was still aggravated, not in the mood for chitchat.**

**"What did the doctor say?"**

**"Dr. Cullen saw me, and he said I was fine and I could go home." I sighed. Mike and Jessica and Eric were all there, beginning to converge on us. "Let's go," I urged. **

**Charlie put one arm behind my back, not quite touching me, and led me to the glass doors of the exit. I waved sheepishly at my friends, hoping to convey that they didn't need to worry anymore. It was a huge relief— the first time I'd ever felt that way — to get into the cruiser.**

**We drove in silence. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I barely knew Charlie was there. I was positive that Edward's defensive behavior in the hall was a confirmation of the bizarre things I still could hardly believe I'd witnessed.**

"Wonderful." Rosalie huffed.

"She is going to be difficult isn't she?" Edward said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Of course! She wouldn't be Bella if she wasn't stubborn!" Emmett laughed.

**When we got to the house, Charlie finally spoke.**

**"Um… you'll need to call Renée." He hung his head, guilty.**

**I was appalled. "You told Mom!"**

**"Sorry."**

"Why is he sorry? Of course they should have told her mom." Jasper asked.

"She doesn't seem to like attention, and mothers are always over reacting, so that is hell for Bells." Emmett said, making sense for once.

"Bells?" Edward questioned.

"Yeah, her dad called her that and I liked it." Emmett explained.

**I slammed the cruiser's door a little harder than necessary on my way out.**

**My mom was in hysterics, of course. **

"Told yah!" Emmett piped in.

**I had to tell her I felt fine at least thirty times before she would calm down. She begged me to come home — forgetting the fact that home was empty at the moment — but her pleas were easier to resist than I would have thought. I was consumed by the mystery Edward presented. **

"Ewe la la!" Alice sang, laughing.

**And more than a little obsessed by Edward himself. **

"Awwwwwww!" Alice cooed.

**Stupid, stupid, stupid. I wasn't as eager to escape Forks as I should be, as any normal, sane person would be.**

**I decided I might as well go to bed early that night. Charlie continued to watch me anxiously, and it was getting on my nerves. I stopped on my way to grab three Tylenol from the bathroom. They did help, and, as the pain eased, I drifted to sleep.**

**That was the first night I dreamed of Edward Cullen.**

"How adorable!!!" Alice said, while Edward was grinning.

"Oh, and that's the end." Jasper said, putting the book down on the coffee table**. (A/N: I don't even remember if there was one in the movie. If there wasn't… Emmett broke it before Bella's first time at their house. Ha-ha!)**

"Who is going to read next?"

"Me!" Emmett bellowed, reaching for the book.

"Ah, ah, ah. You are just going to goof off while reading!" Alice said, grabbing the book right before him.

"Please Alice! PLEASE!!! I will behave, I promise!" Emmett whined, pouting.

Alice's eyes glazed over for a moment and then she nodded her head, handing the book to Emmett.

"Yes!" Emmett exclaimed, taking the book from her.

_**(A/N: I would love to thank all of my reviewers so much! I hadn't updated and I was just checking to look at my updates and I had 75, for three chapters! It inspired me to update! Once again I apologize to my readers for not updating! You guys are great!)**_

_**My wonderful reviewers:**_

Kage Hasu, owlgirl16, i-luv-jazz-hale, TheRushingRadiancexx (:D), team vampire 456 (hi!), Ode1990, TwiLoco, David-El, Karse, Aximilli2, MHLY87, TurtleTamer, Ugh, rachelcullen1901, EdwardLoverXXX, Jasper-Renesmee-Jacob Girl, chibi-dono15, Lalaith Quetzalli, Edward'sNewBella17, ForeverTeamEdward13, heal my bleeding heart, angelplusbuffyequals4ever, Brittney & her daughter, Ann, Emmauk26, LoveUrWrighting, im-gaaras-girl, twilightsaga96, zoebelraeali, CresentMoon12, xXEmiShaeXx, Leah Hunter, Jess1177, shantel (hey!), britt0607, Chrystal06921, Rogue200315, Christa-93, LetheStyx, ttrentnk, Cullen Fan21, desimah -rose-lily, kiki-twilighter-ever, PartTimeVampire, Shreya.m, zoebelraeali, Technician Fan, ilovecookies1996, Ms. Jessica Cullen (3), jules452, angelplusbuffyequals4ever, foosel97, tiggerlover1971, Lovinlife3792, Mrs. Nina Cullen, vampiregurl97, desimah -rose-lily, LoveisHeartbreak, twilightsaga96, jasperwifey1, & Mrs. Henry Tilney!

Even though I don't write for reviews, I still get quite the pleasure in reading your comments! Thank you so much! You people make my day! Ha-ha!


	5. sorry

I am so sorry readers. Faithful readers. I appreciate your encouragement and reviews. They have been a blessing to me, really. But I will not be continuing any of my stories. I will put these up for adoption though. Whoever wants them may have them. Once someone has it, I will put a review in this informing you all who owns it.

Thank you and I am so sorry.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. – Romans 12:12

Claire or Whitlock (dot) Mason (dot) McCarthy (dot) Cullen


	6. adopted!

xXxStAr-StRuCkxXx **has adopted this story!**


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